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ABSTRACT: In this paper, slope is analyzed to understand their mechanism by including soil reinforcement using Finite
Element Method. The variation of safety factor for the slope stabilized with inclusion of vertical piles is analysed for a
homogeneous slope of 1:1 slope angle. The variations are studied in terms of parametric analysis for clay and sandy slope by
varying the pile parameters such as position, length, spacing and stiffness of the pile. Results show that the factor of safety
increases while increasing the pile length and pile stiffness. For the range of spacing analysed (2D to 6D), the 4D spacing
appears to be optimum in sandy slope but in clayey slope the spacing effect is marginal.
INTRODUCTION
Unit weight
Unit weight
= 18 kN/m
= 25 kN/m
Poissons ratio
= 0.25
Poissons ratio
= 0.2
Cohesion
= 25kPa
Length of pile
= 15m
Internal friction
= 10
[[
[[
1.55
FOS
1.5
1.45
2D
3D
1.4
0
4
S/D
1
H=10m
Xp
L- Length of pile
X-Width of pile
Xp-Position of
pile from toe
H-Slope height
S-Pile spacing
D
30m
2.2
40
cohesion (kPa)
35
FOS
30
1.8
25
20
1.6
=10o
H=10m
D=0.5m
S/D = 2
=1V:1H
Xp/X=0.5
Clayey
soil
1.4
40
1.8
35
1.6
30
25
1.4
cohesion (kPa)
FOS
a) 2.2
=10o
H=10m
L = 15m
D=0.5m
S/D = 2
=1V:1H
1.2
Clayey soil
1.9
1
0
L/H
20
1.2
40
1.7
0.2
0.4
0.6
Xp/X
0.8
FOS
30
1.3
25
1.1
b) 1.9
1.7
40
1.3
35
1.1
30
25
20
0.9
(degrees)
FOS
1.5
c=5kpa
H=10m
L=15m
D=0.5m
S/D=2
=1V:1H
Sandy
soil
0.7
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Xp/X
(degrees)
35
1.5
c=5kpa
H=10m
D=0.5m
S/D=2
Xp/X=0.5
=1V:1H
Sandy soil
20
0.9
0.7
0
0.5
1.5
2.5
L/H
FOS
40
1.8
35
30
1.6
25
cohesion (kPa)
1.4
=10o
H=10m
L = 15m
S/D = 2
Xp/X=0.5
=1V:1H
2
40
1.8
35
1.6
30
1.4
25
Clayey
soil
cohesion (kPa)
2.2
FOS
and the soil(Es). Fig 5 (both a and b) shows that the safety
factor increases with increase in stiffness of the pile but its
contribution to factor of safety is insignificant irrespective of
soil type and their strength particularly if stiffness factor is
more than 0.002. Thus shows pile of high rigidity is not
favorable to increase the safety.
=10o
H=10m
L = 15m
D=0.5m
Xp/X=0.5
=1V:1H
Clayey
soil
20
1.2
20
1.2
S/D
1
0
0.002
0.004
0.006
2
40
1.8
1.7
FOS
30
1.5
25
1.3
(degrees)
35
35
1.4
30
Sandy
soil
25
1.2
Sandy
soil
20
20
1.1
1.6
FOS
40
1.9
(degrees)
2.1
c=5kpa
H=10m
L=15m
S/D=2
Xp/X=0.5
=1V:1H
c=5kpa
H=10m
L=15m
D=0.5m
Xp/X=0.5
=1V:1H
1
0
S/D
0.9
0
0.002
0.004
0.006
Stiffness Factor (k)
20
1.5
Cohesion (kPa)
FOS
0.7
=10o
H =10m
L = 15m
D =0.5m
S/D = 2
Xp/X=0.5
1/m=H/X
Clayey
soil
D=0.5m
D=1m
1
1
1.25
1.5
m
1.75
2.5
(degrees)
FOS
35
c=5kpa
H=10m
L=15m
D=0.5m
S/D=2
Xp/X=0.5
1/m=H/X
20
1.5
Sandy soil
1
1
1.25
1.5
m
1.75
D= 0.5m
D= 1m
REFERENCES
1. Ausilio, E., Conte, E. and Dente, G. (2001). Stability
Analysis of Slopes Reinforced with Piles, Computers
and Geotechnics, 28, 591 611.
2. Lee, C. Y., Hull, T. S. and Poulos, H. G. (1995).
Simplified Pile Slope Stability Analysis, Computers
and Geotechnics, 17, 1-16.
3. Yang. S. and Ren, J. (2011). Study on Embedded
Length of Piles for Slope Reinforced with One Row of
Piles, Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering, 3, 167178.
Analysis
Material
properties
input
Nail Forces
Failure
surface
Failure
mechanisms
as
Safety Factorsb
(1)Soil
Strength,Fc,F
(2)Pull-out
resistance,Fpc
(3)Tension
bendingc
(1)1.5
(2)1.5
(3)Yield stress
Plastic moment
(1)1(residual shear
strength)
(2)1.5 to 2
(3)Yield stress
French
Method
(Schlosser [5])
Limit
moment
equilibrium
Global stability
Soil parameters
(c, )
Circular, any
input shape
Mixeda
German
Method
(Stocker et al., [6])
Limit
force
equilibrium
Global stability
Soil parameters
(c, )
Lateral friction
Tension
Bilinear
Pull-out
Davis Method
(Shen et al., [7])
Limit
force
equilibrium
Global stability
Soil parameters
(c, )
Parabolic
Mixed
(1)1.5
(2)1.5
(3)Yield stress
Modified
Davis
(Elias and Juran,
[8, 9])
Limit
force
equilibrium
Global stability
Soil parameters
(c, )
Parabolic
Mixed
(1)1
(2)2
(3)Yield stress
Kinematical Method
(Juran et al., [10])
Working
analysis
Local stability
Soil parameters
(C/(H), )
Log-spiral
Not applicable
(1)1
(2)2
(3)Yield stress
Plastic moment
stress
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
ABSTRACT: This paper describes the results of series of model tests conducted on pile and two pile groups embedded in
loose and medium dense sand behind a retaining wall. The pile head deflection is found to decrease exponentially with
increasing distance between the pile and the retaining wall. The pile group tests reveal that the response of a pile within a pile
group due to excavation induced soil not only depends on its distance from the retaining wall but also the position relative to
other piles within the pile group. It is also found that the piles arranged in a line perpendicular to retaining wall shows lesser
deflection than the single pile and also for the piles of pile group arranged in a row parallel to retaining wall. A numerical
study is also carried out using Plaxis 3D Foundation and the results are compared with the experimental results. The maximum
pile head deflection of pile thus obtained from the FEM is compared reasonably with the results of model test.
INTRODUCTION
Piles are used for transferring load from the superstructure
through weak compressible strata or through water, to stiffer
or more compact and less compressible soils or rock. They
are used to support structures such as foundation of high rise
buildings, transmission towers and offshore platforms which
are subjected to significant magnitudes of vertical loads and
lateral loads. Apart from this, piles are subjected to lateral
forces due to soil movement. Due to increasing construction
practices of underground structures and deep excavations,
damages to piles due to ground movements are severe and
designing the piles for this condition becomes essential. For
structures requiring many basement levels and underground
facilities, the excavation works becomes necessary below
several meters from the ground.
The response of pile foundations due to ground movement
was brought out by researchers such as Poulos and Chen
(1996 and1997) by conducting experimental studies through
1g models. Leung et al. (2000 and 2003) and Ong et al.
(2009) studied free-field displacements and additional
responses of adjacent pile foundations in sand and clay
through centrifuge tests. In the theoretical studies of Poulos
& Chen (1997), boundary element method (PALLAS) is used
for analyzing the pile subjected to lateral soil movement. Pan
et al. (2002) and Miao et al. (2006) conducted three
dimensional finite element analyses of passive pile behavior.
However research work in this area appears scarce. This may
be due to difficulty in simulating the lateral soil movement in
the laboratory which needs elaborate instrumentation in field
testing and the complexity involved in understanding the
mechanics. In order to contribute towards understanding the
response of piles behind the supported excavation particularly
pile parameters like location of pile, pile group arrangement,
spacing of pile and depth of excavation 1g model tests were
carried out on model piles both single and two pile groups
embedded in sand by inducing lateral soil movement. Tests
were carried out by varying soil and pile related parameters
and the behavior of instrumented pile and pile groups were
Wooden
Planks
PLAN VIEW
Dial
Indicator
ELEVATION VIEW
3D
3D
3D
REFERENCES
1.
2.
Fig. 8 Comparison of experimental and Plaxis results for
two Pile Group of L/D ratio 20
3D
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents the response of model piles behind the
supported deep excavations in dry sand. On comparing the
8.
M.Mahalakshmi, PG Student, Anna University Chennai, Chennai600 025, India. Email: civil.maha89@gmail.com
K. Ilamparuthi, Professor, Anna University Chennai, Chennai600 025, India .E-mail: kanniilam@gmail.com.
ABSTRACT: In this study tests are performed on two layered soil system by applying vacuum, surcharge and combined
vacuum surcharge loading with and without pvds. The two layered system consists of intermediate plastic clay and high plastic
clay on bottom and top respectively. The parameters such as thickness of clay layer and pressure range are varied in this
research. To study suitability of hyperbola method for vacuum consolidation the results of the tests conducted are analysed by
hyperbola method and logarithm method. The improved rectangular hyperbola method gives the high value of coefficient of
consolidation for the soil tested when comparing with log time method. The test results indicate that the vacuum pressure
induces less settlement than the surcharge and combined surcharge vacuum pressure. The rate of consolidation of vacuum
pressure is more compared to the surcharge pressure of same magnitude.
.
INTRODUCTION
The last few decades, field of geotechnical engineering has
attained many milestones with successful implementation of
new technologies and satisfactory performance. The
performance and stability of structure depends on the
properties of soil mass. In the recent times the availability of
with good soil is depleting day by day, we are forced to use
location of soft soil deposit. Soft soils are geologically recent
deposits, which are available dominantly along the narrow
tidal plains all over the world. To avoid excessive settlement
of highly compressible soil after construction, its properties
can be improved by adopting suitable ground improvement
technique. Ground improvement in its broadest sense is a
technique adopted to modify any property of soil to improve
its engineering performance. Various ground improvement
methods are available to increase strength, reduce
compressibility, reduce risk of liquefaction potential of
subsoil and increase stability of soil slopes. Preloading is the
most popular ground improvement technique and is widely
used for treatment of soft clays.
Vacuum Preloading Technique
This technique is developed based on vacuum dewatering
system, which was used to drain the water in low permeable
deposits. The concept of vacuum preloading was first
introduced by Kjellman(1952) of Swedish Geotechnical
Institute. One of the first applications of this technique was
runway extension at Philadelphia International Airport in
1957. Since then, this technique has been successfully used
for soil improvement and or land reclamation projects in
many countries (Saowapakpiboon et al [3], Shang et al [4]).
In vacuum preloading method, vacuum is applied to the pore
phase in a sealed membrane system. The vacuum causes
water to drain out from the soil and creates negative pore
water pressure in the soil. This leads to an increase in
effective stress to the magnitude of the induced negative pore
water pressure, without the increase of total stress. In order to
achieve rapid pre-consolidation, pvds are often used along
with the vacuum preloading. Reasonably good amount of
Vacuum Pump
The pressure of magnitude 30kPa, 50kPa and 80kPa are
applied. The vacuum pressure is applied by means of vacuum
pump. For the application of vacuum pressure, initially the
vacuum pump is turned on and the regulator is adjusted to set
the required pressure. The surface of the cell is sealed with
grease to prevent leakage. The vacuum pump is then operated
and the settlement was recorded for predetermined time
intervals. The test is carried out till the dial gauge reading
remains constant for a long time or 10 hours. The same
procedure is followed for large size mould also. For drainage
purpose the sand layer of 0.5 cm is used in large size mould.
Combined Vacuum and Surcharge Preloading
The tests were conducted by applying combined vacuum
surcharge pressure of 50kPa and 80kPa. The readings are
noted until the constant value is reached or minimum for 10
hours. After the completion of tests on conventional mould
and large size mould the final water content is determined for
each test.
CONSOLIDATION BEHAVIOUR OF TWO LAYERED
SOIL SYSTEM WITHOUT PVD
Consolidation tests are carried out in conventional mould
with the application of surcharge and vacuum pressure of
30kPa, 50kPa and 80kPa and combined pressure of 50kPa
200
Time/Settlement
(min/mm)
VP=
30kPa
150
y=0.973x+38.689
100
y=0.47x+12.9
50
y=0.447x+9.699
0
0
50
Time (min)
100
1.
INTRODUCTION
2. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS:
Materials used
A locally available natural silty clay soil was used to prepare
the clay subgrades. The specific gravity of this soil is found
to be 2.63 (ASTM D 0854 02). The particle size
distribution was determined as per ASTM D 6913-04 and
shown in Fig. 1. The liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity
index of the soil are found to be 40%, 21% and 19%
respectively (ASTM D 4318-05). As per the Unified Soil
Classification System (USCS) [ASTM D2487-06] the soil
can be classified as clay with low plasticity (CL).
was placed at the centre of the tank. The footing was loaded
with a computer controlled motorised hydraulic system
supported against the upper cross head of the reaction frame.
Clay
Aggregate
Percent finer
80
60
40
Clay Bed
Clay+SC
Clay+SC
Clay+SC+
Sand
Floating stone columns in soft clay with unreinforced and Geocell reinforced sand cushion
Clay+SC+Geocell Mattress
Property
Range
Average Value
Moisture Content
Bulk Unit weight (b)
Vane shear strength (cu)
35.8-36.5 %
18-18.1 kN/m3
4.8-5.2 kPa
36 %
18.05 kN/m3
5 kPa
20
25
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
40
60
80
80
100
120
Clay
Clay+SC(S/dsc=3.5)
Clay+SC(S/dsc=2.5)
100
Clay
Clay+SC(L/dsc=1)
Clay+SC(L/dsc=3)
60
20
40
20
Clay+SC(S/dsc=1.5)
12
16
20
24
Clay+SC(L/dsc=5)
Clay+SC(L/dsc=7)
28
12
16
20
24
28
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Clay
Clay+SC+Sand (h/D=0.53)
Clay+SC+Sand (h/D=0.90)
Clay+SC+Sand (h/D=1.10)
Clay+SC+Sand (h/D=1.60)
12
16
20
24
28
Floating stone columns in soft clay with unreinforced and Geocell reinforced sand cushion
UR
2.60
GR
4.38
UR
2.89
GR
4.29
UR
3.26
GR
7.44
UR
3.71
GR
5.48
3.66
4.27
4.42
4.58
4.90
7.62
5.22
6.36
3.59
4.30
4.53
4.63
5.13
7.38
5.41
6.66
3.54
4.15
4.41
4.67
5.00
7.41
5.25
6.65
3.39
4.08
4.25
4.70
4.85
7.24
5.09
6.74
Clay
11
3.35
4.13
4.20
4.80
4.72
7.33
5.01
7.06
Clay+GC+SC (h/D=0.53)
13
3.41
4.23
4.26
5.09
4.80
7.56
5.02
7.41
Clay+GC+SC (h/D=0.90)
15
3.42
4.34
4.28
5.29
4.81
7.75
5.09
7.76
17
3.40
4.41
4.28
5.45
4.83
7.96
5.04
7.96
19
3.47
4.57
4.30
5.69
4.89
8.21
5.09
8.29
21
3.55
4.73
4.37
5.92
4.99
8.49
5.16
8.59
23
3.61
4.87
4.42
6.18
5.05
8.79
5.22
8.96
25
3.65
5.02
4.45
6.43
5.15
9.13
5.29
9.28
27
3.69
5.13
4.51
6.73
5.21
9.42
5.37
9.59
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
Clay+GC+SC (h/D=1.10)
Clay+GC+SC (h/D=1.60)
12
16
20
24
28
h/D=0.53
h/D=0.90
h/D=1.10
h/D=1.60
Note:
UR: Unreinforced sand cushion
GR: Geocell reinforced sand cushion
CONCLUSIONS
From the discussion on the results of this experimental
investigation it can be concluded that
The length of stone columns giving maximum
performance is about 5 times that of the diameter of
the stone columns
The optimum spacing of stone columns is about 2.5
times that of the diameter of the stone columns
Too small spacing of stone column causes lateral
buckling of the surrounding columns
Bulging reduces with depth of the stone column and
ceases at depth beyond 4 times that of the diameter.
Moderate increase in bearing capacity of the clay
bed can be achieved with stone column of optimum
length and spacing. This improvement is about 3.5
times that of the unreinforced clay bed.
In case of stone columns in soft clay bed the stone
columns fails in bulging at top irrespective of the
termination level (i.e., end bearing or floating)
Stone columns with smaller length less than or equal
to 3 times that of the diameter fails in punching.
REFERENCES
1.
ABSTRACT: Wherever rock strata are encountered at reasonable depth, it would be advantageous to socket the pile in to the
rock, so that the piles can achieve maximum load carrying capacity. In this paper few of the case histories on the rock socketed
piles installed in the I-T (Information Technology) corridor region of Chennai are discussed. There were about 7500 piles of
diameters 600, 800 and 1000 mm. In total 19 vertical load tests were conducted including initial load test and routine load tests
for three projects. The results from the pile load tests are analysed and the pile designs are reviewed. Based on these studies, it
is inferred that the piles can be designed to capacities close to their structural capacity, if the piles are properly socketed in to
the rock systematically. The study also recommends some guidelines to be followed for termination of the rock socketed piles.
INTRODUCTION
Chennai is one of the important cities where major
Information Technology (IT) Parks are being developed in
Special Economic Zone. In Chennai, the Old Mahapalipuram
Road (OMR) region is the most preferred location for the
establishment of the IT Parks, may be because of its
proximity to the Bay of Bengal. This road is also referred as
IT Corridor of Chennai. In the IT Corridor region of Siruseri
and Sholinganallur the general sub-soil condition is that 10 to
12m of overburden soil followed by soft disintegrated /
weathered / fresh Charnockite rock strata. IT office buildings
normally have 10 to 20 stories and basements for car parking.
Hence pile foundations are almost inevitable in this region.
And the piles are always socketed in to the hard Charnockite
rock. Socketing in to the rock also enables maximum
mobilisation of the load carrying capacity of piles. This paper
discusses few case histories on the installation and testing of
the rock socketed piles in Siruseri and Sholinganallur of the
IT Corridor region of Chennai.
Rock Socketed Piles
Rock Socketed Piles are generally concrete bored cast-in-situ
piles which transmit the loads of the structure to the rock
through resistance developed either at the pile tip by end
bearing or along the interface surface by pile rock adhesion
or through both. The design of the rock socketed piles are
done as per IS:14593 or as per Cole and Stroud (1977)
method. Generally structural capacity of the pile is limited to
25% of the characteristic strength of the concrete as per the
clause 7.3.5 of the IS: 2911 (PartI/SecII) (2010). In Mumbai
region it is customary that the pile capacities are generally
limited to a pile stress of 550T/m2 as per Datye (1990).
Depending on the strength of the rock the vertical load
carrying capacity of the pile can be as much as equal to the
structural capacity of the pile. This is achieved by designing
the socketing length of the pile in to the rock so that the
geotechnical capacity of the pile is always higher than the
structural capacity. The most difficult challenge in the
installation of rock socketed piles is the identification of the
Jasmine Nisha, J., Minu Ann George, Karuppa Samy, K., and Murugesan, S.
Parameters
5190 to 126900 kN/m2
6000 to 7000 kN/m2
287500 to 8144400 kN/m2
Bluish, greenish, brownish
Rounded to rod shaped
Quartz, Garnet, Microcline,
Hypersthene, Feldspar, Pyroxene
63
600
800
1000
Total
4
3
1
8
6
7
6
19
3298
2345
851
6474
Project
No.
Settlement
Dia. of Length Ultimate
Load
Pile of Pile
Gross
Net
(m)
(kN)
(mm)
(mm) (mm)
12.68
3142
3.17
1.35
16.60
3016
4.11
2.61
800
13.20
5315
2.30
1.12
12.90
5315
3.31
1.27
17.70
5315
3.64
2.12
1000 16.20
9292
8.27
3.74
20.02
6982
2.80
0.92
Jasmine Nisha, J., Minu Ann George, Karuppa Samy, K., and Murugesan, S.
CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
1. Cole, K.W. and Stroud, M.A. (1977) Rock Socket Piles
at Coventry Poi Market Way, Coventry. Symposium on
Piles in Weak Rocks, Institution of civil Engineers,
London, pp 47 62.
2. Datye, K.R. (1990). Bored Piling in Bombay Region.
Advance in Geotechnical Engineering, IGC 1990,
Mumbai, India, pp. 571-587.
3. IS 14593 (1998). Indian standard code of practice for
Design and Construction of Bored Cast In-Situ Piles
founded on Rock-Guidelines. BIS, New Delhi.
4. IS:2911 (Part-I/Sec-II) (2010) Indian Standard for
Design and Construction of Pile Foundations - code of
Practice - Part 1 Concrete Piles Section 2 Bored Cast Insitu Concrete Piles. BIS, New Delhi.
5. IS:2911 (Part-IV) (1985) Indian Standard for Design and
Construction of Pile Foundations - code of Practice - Part
4 - Load Test on Piles. BIS, New Delhi
INTRODUCTION
In the field construction activities expansive soils are used
either as construction material for compacted earth structures
(dams, embankment, etc.) or as foundation material for
transferring the structural loads through foundation elements.
In the former case the soil stabilization technique by using
various types of admixtures (granular material, lime, cement,
fly ash, natural or synthetic fiber pieces, industrial waste
products, chemicals etc.) is the most popular and widely
recommended method. Every year a very large number of
published papers report the studies and findings on this
aspect. Different new types of materials are also being tried
and studied. The method essentially involves mixing the
specified quantity of admixture in dry pulverized expansive
soil, adding water and then compacting the wet mixture in
place by suitable compacting machines and devices. It is to
be realized that in the whole domain of civil engineering
construction activities in field this type of construction
process is relatively very small in magnitude as against the
cases wherein light or heavily loaded structures are to be built
on expansive soil grounds.
The natural expansive soil is very poor as an engineering
material as it has very low bearing capacity and high
compressibility and exhibits large cyclic volumetric changes
during dry-wet seasons. This notoriously named very poor,
treacherous and problematic expansive clay is thus required
to be modified in-situ for the effective and trouble-free
performance of the structure. Any method that will suppress
its swell-shrink magnitude and reduce the swelling pressure
is considered as the main requirement for founding light
weight structures like single and double storied buildings,
pavements etc. However, for the construction of heavily
loaded structures on expansive soil sites, in-situ ground
improvement with respect to strength and stiffness is of prime
importance. The grouting method is viewed as practically and
economically unfeasible in expansive clayey soil because of
Solution
CaCl2
w (%)
h/h (%)
UCS (kN/m2)
2.4
2.1
150
8.3
9.9
160
11.8
16.4
164
Solution
Na2SiO3
w (%)
h/h (%)
UCS (kN/m2)
2.3
2.1
164
7.2
8.5
168
9.8
13.7
168
Solution
C-444
w (%)
h/h (%)
UCS (kN/m2)
6.0
5.4
75
12.4
14.0
81
15.7
21.5
84
Water
Sol. C-444
Sol. CaCl2
Sol. Na2SiO3
32% wi
25.2% wi
2 0.3% wi
Water
Sol. C-444
Sol. CaCl2
20
15
Sol. Na2SiO3
10
5
0
15
20
25
30
35
Sol. C-444
Sol. Na2SiO3
Fig. 4 Decrease in swelling during diffusion of chemical
solutions
Sol. CaCl2
Sol. CaCl2
Sol. C-444
Sol. Na2SiO3
Fig. 5 Increase in UCS treated samples at different water
content
CONCLUSIONS
The following important conclusions are drawn from the
laboratory investigations:
The diffusion of chemical solution in expansive soil is
possible and it develops the positive effects in respect of
improving the strength characteristics and reducing the
swelling behavour.
The initial water content condition significantly governs
the maximum water content change and the
REFERENCES
1.
CASE STUDY ON THE USE OF PVDS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT FOR THE DEPOT AREA
OF CHENNAI METRO RAIL
M. VINOTH, L&T Construction, Buildings and Factories, Chennai 89, E mail: vinothmani@lntecc.com
L. VARALAKSHMI, L&T Construction, Buildings and Factories, Chennai 89, E mail: lakshmi@lntecc.com
S. MURUGESAN, L&T Construction, Buildings and Factories, Chennai 89, E mail: smgsoil@lntecc.com
R.G. ROBINSON, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai 36, E mail: robinson@iitm.ac.in
ABSTRACT: A depot for rail bogie maintenance of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. is under construction at Koyambedu in Chennai,
India covering an area of about 270,000m2. The depot area is developed with an average height of soil filling for about 1.0 m over
the existing ground level. The sub-soil strata comprise a layer of soft clay at depth of 7 to 18 m below existing ground level. This
layer is expected to undergo long term consolidation settlement due to the loads from filling and rail operations. Hence Ground
improvement using Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD) with surcharge was undertaken to accelerate the consolidation over the
entire depot area. As a priory trial area of about 100 m 50 m was treated with PVD and monitored through field instrumentation
to verify the time rate settlements as per design. The predicted settlements and consolidation time matched reasonably well with
that of measured values from the field. It was observed that almost 70% of consolidation has happened within about a months time
as the clay is having high radial co-efficient of consolidation. It is concluded that the site is ideal for the improvement by
accelerating the consolidation with the help of PVD and surcharging.
SUBSURFACE PROFILE
The subsurface investigation comprised the following.
1. Detailed investigation through 33 boreholes
2. 66 numbers of Dynamic cone penetration tests (DCPT)
done in grid pattern over the plan area of the depot and
3. 15 numbers of Static cone penetration tests at discrete
location spread across the grids.
From all these investigations the average and the generalised
soil profile was deduced and is shown in the Table 1. The
profile of average SPT values observed along the depth of all
20
40
SPT-'N'
60
Avg.
SPT N
13
5
20
50
80
100
120
0
5
10
Depth (m)
INTRODUCTION
A depot for rail bogie maintenance of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd.
is under construction at Koyambedu in Chennai, India. The
depot covers an area of about 270,000 m2. The Natural Ground
Level (NGL) within the depot is on an average at level of +9.0
m above Mean Sea Level (MSL). The formed floor level of the
depot is proposed to be at +10.0 MSL. Inside the depot, it
would be open ballast-less track, first of its kind in the country.
The formation for all the tracks within the depot will be on
concrete slabs supported by Hydraulic Bound Layer (HBL) laid
over the formed ground. The soil profile in the depot shows the
presence of soft silty clay at a depth of 7 m to 18 m from the
NGL. Because of the loading due to the fill soil (form NGL to
+10.0 MSL) throughout the depot and track loading, the soft
clay layer is expected to undergo consolidation, leading to time
dependent settlement in future. Hence it was proposed to
accelerate the consolidation by Prefabricated Vertical Drains
(PVD) and surcharge. This paper discusses on the geotechnical
aspects of the design execution and monitoring of the ground
improvement works with PVD and also the learnings from the
study.
15
20
25
30
35
Case Study on the use of PVDs for Ground Improvement for the Depot area of Chennai Metro
(3)
4Tv
(4)
Tr =
Cht
2
de
(5)
REFERENCES
1. Sridhar, G. and Robinson, R.G. (2011), Determination of
radial coefficient of consolidation using log t method,
International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,
(2011), 383-391.
2. Federal highway administration, Prefabricated vertical
drains, Engineering guide lines Vol.1.
3. IS 15284: Part 2: (2004), Design and construction of
ground improvement guidelines Pre consolidation using
vertical drains.
4. IS 8009: Part I: (1976), Code of Practice for Calculation of
Settlements of Foundations.
5. IS 7356: Part I: (2002), Code of Practice for Installation,
Maintenance and Observation of Instruments for Pore
Pressure Measurements in Earth Dams and Rockfill Dams,
Part 1 Porous tube piezometers.
6. Asaoka, A (1978), Observational procedure of settlement
prediction, Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering, (1978), Vol. 18
ABSTRACT: The test sections are the tools of geotechnical engineering to obtain methodology for the execution of actual
work with economy and constructional advantage. The present paper describes the test section approach to establish the
methodology for Shell Material (#5) for adoption in actual execution in Main Dam & upstream cofferdam of Koldam HEP.
The investigations were carried out in two phases to obtain the optimum results. The main geotechnical parameters used in
evaluation of performance/ efficiency in the test section were gradation, settlement and density.
INTRODUCTION
The Koldam HEP (800MW), a 167m high Earth & Rockfill
dam across Satluj river is being executed in a Karstic terrain.
The various fill materials being used in Main Dam & U/s
cofferdam and Cross-section of Main Dam are as follows.
Table 1 Materials of Main Dam & upstream Cofferdam
Name
Type of Material Functional description
Material #1
Clay
Central Core
Material #2
Material #5
Processed
quartzite
Processed
quartzite
Processed
quartzite
Gravel
Material #6
Gravel
Material #7
Rockfill
Material #8
Rockfill
Material #9
Rockfill
Material #10
Rockfill
Material #3
Material #4
Equipments
The Bulldozer (Caterpillar D8R) was used for laying/
spreading the Shell Material (#5) at the test section after
transportation from quarry/ stockpile in Dumpers/ Trucks.
Vibratory Roller (CS 583-E) (16T) was used in compacting
the layers at test section.
Sub-base Preparation
The surface area is properly prepared by stripping off top
soil, eliminating lumps, drying, scarifying to a depth of
0.15 m, placing a minimum 0.20 meter first layer of material,
and compacting with 10 passes of compactor. A
topographical survey was conducted at control points. The
sub-base has been further compacted with 2 additional passes
with vibratory roller on original compacted surface and a
topographical survey has been done on longitudinal center
axis. Following guidelines were adopted at control points for
the acceptance of final surface.
- if the AVERAGE settlement is less than 3 cm => OK
- if the AVERAGE settlement is more than 3 cm => recompact the surface with 04 additional no of passes on the
whole sub-base and remake the test on the central part.
0.85 m.
2.55
11.30 m.
100
Phase-1
Ramp-1"
90
Ramp 2
80
PERCENT FINER BY WEIGH
PH-12
70
PH-13
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.01
0.10
1.00
10.00
100.00
1000.00
Settlement (%
4.00
11.3
AVERAGE
3.00
2.00
1.00
70
0.00
0 Passes
2 Passes
4 Passes
6 Passes
8 Passes
10 Passes
Number of Passes
12 Passes
16 Passes
Establishing Control Parameters of Shell Material using Test Section Approach in Earth & Rock-fill Dam
The Settlement of Gravel Materials # 5 Versus Number of Passes
Visual Observations
Following photograph was observed at the excavated trench
walls of Section B (after 6 passes). The bigger particles
(maximum size around 300 400mm) are well interlocked in
the fines.
4.00
BLOCK B-LINE A
BLOCK B -LINE B
AVERAGE
Settlem
ent (%
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0 Passes
2 Passes
4 Passes
6 Passes
Number of Passes
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
Depth
(M)
0.00
0.80
1.60
0.00
0.80
1.60
No. of
Passes
16
16
16
6
6
6
Density
gm/cc
2.44
2.21
2.35
2.22
2.18
2.24
Evaluation of Parameters
Gradation
Except for the tested material from the ramps of layer No 01
(before compaction) all the tested material is found within the
range of specifications. As expected, in this phase also the
Material does not change in gradation by compaction.
Compaction
The compaction was evaluated by settlement measurements
(expressed as percentage of the layer thickness) in reference
to the number of passes of compactor. Leveling
measurements were carried out on a grid of points 1.0m x
1.0m. The grid of measurement points was located
symmetrical to the longitudinal axis. Two grading before and
after compaction of each subsection were carried out. After
compaction the density of the material was calculated in the
same two pits on each layer by the water replacement
method. The average settlements of all the three layers
separately for subsection A & B is presented below.
5.00
Settlement (%)
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
2 Passes
4 Passes
6 Passes
8 Passes
Subsection B
(8 passes)
No 1
No 2
2.38
2.39
2.37
2.39
2.34
2.36
2.37
CONCLUSIONS
The Phase-1 & Phase-2 investigations evolve that gradation
after compaction is not changing significantly. High field
density values were observed in Phase-2 both for 6
(2.30gm/cc) and 8 passes (2.37gm/cc) of the compactor. The
investigations of Phase-1 & Phase-2 are reviewed against the
requirements specified in the specifications and it is inferred
that layer thickness of 1.0m with 6 passes of the designated
compactor is providing an optimum result for Shell material
(#5), which were recommended for further trials on other
stockpile materials.
REFERENCES
1. IS 2720 Part 33: Determination of the density in place by
the ring and water replacement method.
2. IS 2720 Part 4: Methods of Test for Soils: Grain Size
Analysis.
3. EM 1110-2-2300, 30 Jul 04: General design &
Construction Considerations for Earth & Rockfill Dams,
US Army Corps of Engineers (2004).
4. Earth Manual, Part-1 (1998) of U. S. Department of the
Interior Bureau of Reclamation.
5. CECW-EG, Engineer Manual, 1110-2-2301 (1994), U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers: Engineering and Design:
Test Quarries and Test Fills
ABSTRACT: The observation test results by several investigators would show that behavior of silty sand at varied stress
levels is essentially non-linear. However for all practical purposes it is assumed to be linear in a lower range of strains. This
simplification leads to significant error in estimation of strength and deformation properties of silty sands. This study presents
the behavior of silty sand at high strain level and its engineering implications for structural loading. Due to the rapid increase
in demand in the housing sector, a large number of multistoried residential buildings are being constructed in and around
capital region of Delhi in the proximity of the river Yamuna. For a safe design to ensure that these structures dont have any
structural damage in their life time, the knowledge of strength behavior of silty sand obtained from the proximity of river
Yamuna becomes a matter of importance. In the present paper, the behavior of siltysand has been studied in the laboratory and
the results have been compared with the behavior of materials as published by varied investigators in relation to the Boltons
empirical shear strength fitting parameter for clean sands (Q=10).It was observed that the Yamuna sand containing silts has
comparable values (7.2-9.1) of empirical shear strength fitting parameters (Q) atselect densities as shown in the present work.
INTRODUCTION
The stress-strain response of sand at small, intermediate, and
large-strain levels depends upon soil state variables (the
relative density Dr of the sand, the effective stress state, and
fabric) and other factors related to the nature of the sand
(particle shape, particle size distribution, particle surface
characteristics, and mineralogy). The factors related to the
constitution and general nature of the sand particles are
referred to as intrinsic variables [1,2]. Examples of intrinsic
variables are the critical-state friction angle c, the maximum
and minimum void ratio emax and emin, and the dilatancy
parameters Q and R of the peak friction angle given by the
correlation of Bolton[1].However natural sand deposit of
Yamuna sand abundantly found near Delhi region, contain
significant amount of silt and or clay. The authors have
reviewed the work carried out by the previous researcher [115] andhave addressed the effect of silt sized particles on the
stress-strain response of Yamuna sand when silt is present
upto 15% by weight.
As such the knowledge of the shear strength parameters (Q
and R) of silty sand would be necessary for the safe design of
structures being constructed on the Yamuna basin. There is
no past studies reported so far in the engineering literature
which provide a direct relationship for prediction of the shear
strength and dilatancy parameters of silty sand obtained from
the river Yamuna. The samples were prepared at different
relative densities and were subjected to different level of
mean effective confining pressure. The stress-strain response
was recorded and shear strength and dilatancy parameters
were obtained for each fine percentage.
Critical state and peak friction angle were calculated for each
soil sample. The various state variables were also calculated
S. Ojha, P.Goyal & A. Trivedi
The contents of the tube are then released into the membrane
by raising the tube. Densification of the sample is
accomplished by carefully and symmetrically tapping the
sides of the sample mold immediately after slurry deposition.
Because the mass of sand and silt used in sample preparation
can be accurately estimated, it is possible to obtain a relative
density that is reasonably close to a target value by
measuring the height of the sample as it gets compacted.
Thesamples had heights of the order of 76 mm and diameters
of the order of 38 mm. The confining pressures ranging from
50 kPa to 400 kPa were applied to the samples and the rate of
strain was kept slow enough at 1.25 per minute to ensure
uniformity of results. The volume change of the sample was
measured using a sensitive differential pressure techniques.
The stress-strain data was recorded. The details of the sample
preparation and testing procedures was as recommended by
IS 2720.
MATERIAL PROPERTIES
The shear strength of sand may be expressed in terms of a
number of intrinsic parameters (c, Q and R) [1]. The
intrinsic parameters are a function of the nature of sand and
thus changes with fines content for a given soil density. A
series of tri-axial tests were performed to assess how the
shear strength of sand changes as an increasing percent of
low plastic fines is prepared. In order to explain the effect of
fines on the behavior of clean sand, an experimental program
was developed. The experimental study was carried out for
fine content in the range of 5% to 15%. A series of tri-axial
shear tests, relative density tests and model plate load test
were performed to assess the effect of fine content on angle
of internal friction, minimum and maximum void ratios of
clean sand. The effective size (D10), the mean grain size
(D50), coefficient of uniformity (Cu), and coefficient of
curvature (Cc) are calculated and given in Table 1. The
maximum and minimum void ratio of clean sand emax and
emin are 0.78 and 0.50. Its specific gravity of silt and sand is
2.63 & 2.67.
PRELIMINARY RELATIONSHIPS
The data of a typical drained compression test on a dense,
cylindrical sample with frictionless ends is required to
interpret preliminary stress - dilatancy relations. Strains were
inferred from boundary displacements and volume changes,
and they therefore under estimate the strains in the rupture
zone which developed between points [2]. The achievement
and accurate determination of the ultimate conditions may be
considerably hampered by the non-uniformity of the sample
and the uncertainty regarding membrane correction following
the formation of a rupture plane. Nevertheless such evidence
as exists suggests that soil in rupture zones will dilate fully to
achieve a critical state, at which shear deformation can
continue in the absence of a volume change. The point of
peak strength is usually associated with the maxima of (d1 /
d3)[2-3, 9, 14, 17]. A typical result of triaxial testing on
silty sand is shown in Fig. 3. The corresponding volume
change vs axial strain plots can be obtained from the details
of the out-put captured by the first author [5]. Bolton [1]
D10
0.13
0.12
-
D30
0.19
0.18
0.18
0.18
D50
0.22
0.22
0.22
0.21
D60
0.25
0.24
0.24
0.24
Cc
1.07
1.13
-
Volume
mm3
85058.6
85058.6
85058.6
P`p
(kPa)
147
155
186
159
186
175
220
181
192
Best Fit
`mp
kPa
9.3
14.3
25.8
47.2
108.4
Trend line
with R=1
Q
r2
r2
6.9
6.2
7.4
7.5
8.9
0.47
-0.23
0.13
0.03
0.79
0.92
0.94
0.99
0.987
0.999
7.7
8.1
8.7
9.0
9.3
0.914
0.839
0.954
0.945
0.997
emin
emax
Gs
D50
Ref.
Ham river
0.92
0.59
33
0.22
[7]
Monterey
Sand
0.57
0.86
37
[1]
Toyoura
Sand
0.61
0.99
35.1
2.65
0.16
[8]
Ottawa
Sand
0.48
0.78
29
[2]
CS+5%
fines
0.5
0.78
24.7
2.67
0.25
[5]
CS+10%
fines
0.46
0.76
25.6
2.66
0.22
[5]
CS+15%
fines
0.42
0.72
26.9
2.64
0.21
[5]
S. Ojha, P.Goyal & A. Trivedi
DISCUSSIONS
The analysis of a large number of drained tri-axial
compression tests were carried out with volumetric strain
measurement. The tests were performed on consolidated
specimens of clean sand of river Yamuna with silt which
allow the following inferences. Table 5 shows the results of
linear regression following Eqs. (1-5) for the data of Yamuna
sand with 5, 10 and 15% silt contents. They refer to the value
of confining stress 100, 200 and 400kPa. Table 4, 5 and 6
show Q and R values obtained [2, 6 and 5]. It indicates that
Q and R values are significantly lower in the pressure range,
relative density and sizes. It appears that Q and R are
sensitive to these parameters. Table 7 shows the value of
intrinsic variables for various sands &silty sand investigated
worldwide along with the findings of the present results.
These findings have typical applications in estimation of
dilatancy [1-3, 6, 9-12, 13-14], hardening-softening [18-19],
collapse behavior [15], bearing-capacity of ash fills [10, 12,
16] and prediction of engineering behavior of granular
materials namely silts [2, 4, 6, 13] to ashes [9-12] and rock
masses [3, 14, 9] as per the works cited in this paper [4-5, 912, 13-16, 18-20].
CONCLUSIONS
As a result of present work, the dilatancy of silty sand is
obtained.The knowledge of the shear strength parameters (Q
and R) of silty sand are essential for the safe design of
structures being constructed on the Yamuna basin which can
be directly assessed on the basis of the present study. It is
observed that due to the presence of silt there is a significant
change in the strength properties of silty sand as reflected by
the changes in the values of Boltons [1] shear strength
fitting parameters Q & R for Yamuna sand. The authors
supplemented the value of Q & R reported in the literature
for silty-sand. The outcome of present work indicates that Q
& R are sensitive to the mean sizes, density and extent of
confinement. Such a sensitivity of Boltons shear strength
parameters Q & R significantly contributes to the nonlinear
behavior of silty sand obtained from the catchment of river
Yamuna.
REFERENCES
1. Bolton, M. D. (1986). The strength and dilatancy.
Geeotechnique, 36(1), 5578.
2. Salgado R., Bandini P. and Karim A. (2000). Shear
Strength and Stiffness of Silty Sand, Journal of
Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Engineering, vol.
126(5), 451462.
3. Trivedi A. (2010). Strength and dilatancy of jointed
rocks with granular fill, ActaGeotechnica, vol. 5(1), 1531.
4. Gupta R. and Trivedi A. (2009). Effects of non-plastic
fines on the behavior of loose sand an experimental
study, EJGE, 14, (B), 1-14.
5. Ojha S. (2006) Non linear behavior of few sand and its
engineering implication Unpublished PhD work,FoT,
University of Delhi.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
ROCK DYNAMICS AND ACOUSTIC EMISSION STUDY FOR HILL ROCK SLOPE
R.K.Panigrahi, Principal Scientist, Geotechnical Engineering Division, CRRI, New Delhi, panigrahi_crri@yahoo.co.in
ABSTRACT: This paper deals with a knowledge base in rock dynamics and rock engineering studies for researchers and
engineers. Acoustic emission technique is a tool for understanding and real time monitoring of rock slope stability. Acoustic
emission technique used to study the growth of micro cracks and brittle fracturing. The paper highlights the importance of rock
dynamic study coupled with Acoustic emission technique to generate high quality inputs data for design of stabilization
measures for rock slope to solve the complicated problems pertaining to hill road.
INTRODUCTION
Joint, fold, fault, thrust, shear zone etc. play a significant role
for failure of rock slope. The rock slope failures occur along
pre-existing natural rock discontinuities or plane of
weakness. In rock slope stability problems, the actual failure
or sliding surface depends upon spatial orientation, frequency
and distribution of the discontinuities and the inherent shear
strength of filling material in the discontinuities. The joint
controlled rock slopes prone to failure need an immediate
attention to find out cost optimum solution in the form of
remediation programmes for execution in hilly terrain of
India. Variation in thickness of strata and presence of
discontinuities such as joints, faults, shear zones etc. beneath
Investiogations of Rock
Slope
Engineering Geological
Investigation
RMR,Q,SMR, and
their relationship
the slope may be interpreted from the data collected from the
field using geophysical techniques. Presence of water body
located underneath the hill slope may also be demarcated by
these techniques. The use of ground penetrating radar is an
effective substitution for bore hole investigations. Seismic
refraction method been used most frequently to determine
depths and geometry of Rock blocks, rupture surfaces and
hence rock block volumes.
R.K. Panigrahi
Rock dynamics and acoustic emission study for hill rock slope
R.K. Panigrahi
Techniques
Elements of Investigations
Rock
Structure
Rating
Rock Mass
Rating(RMR)
Geology+geometry+effect of
water inflow+joint condition.
Rock defect
study
Rock Mass
Quality(Q)
Slope Mass
Rating(SMR)
ground
2.
3.
4.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Author is grateful to Prof. Subhamaya Gangopadhyaya,
Director, Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi for his
kind permission to publish this paper. Author is also like to
thanks Head of the Division, Geotechnical Engineering
Division to provide facilities to carry out this Work.
ABSTRACT: In flexible road construction, availability of sufficient amount of soils for subgrade construction is itself
decreasing. In India, requirement of fill material is enormous and available soils near construction sites are found in many
situations to be weak in strength and of high compressibility. On the other hand, natural fibers like jute, coir, sabai grass etc. are
eco-friendly, cheap and are available in abundance in India. Such fibers can be used suitably as additive material in the sub
grade with soil by random mixing to result increase in strength and decrease deformability.
A systematic experimental program has been undertaken by the authors as regard to decrement of deformability and increment
in CBR of cohesive soil layers, on mixing randomly distributed different types of natural fibers in various proportions, with
varying length of fibers. The results of the investigation have been reported and discussed in this paper.
INTRODUCTION
With social and economical progress of human civilization
need of infrastructure development is becoming essential. For
transportation development in India huge amount
construction of roads are being made through different
schemes. For such constructions, requirement of fill material
for subgrade is enormous. But in many cases available soils
near construction sites are found to be weak in strength and
of high compressibility, even after routine compaction.
Reinforced soil structure is an effective technique for
increasing the strength of soil. Reinforced soil is widely used
as the construction material in formation of subgrade for
roads, railway tracks, airfields and in retaining walls or
abutments. Fiber-reinforced soil is becoming a viable soil
improvement method for geotechnical engineering problems
including stabilization of shallow slopes, construction of new
embankments with marginal soils, reduction of shrinkage
cracking in compacted clay liners and reinforcement of
roadway subgrades (Santoni et al. 2001).
In the recent years, randomly distributed fiber reinforced soil
can be advantageously utilized as a ground improvement
technique in the case of embankments, subgrades and in
similar other problems. The main advantages of randomly
distributed discrete fibres are the simplicity in mixing,
maintenance of strength isotropy and absence of potential
planes of weakness which may develop parallel to the
oriented reinforcement. The fibers added in constructions are
expected to provide better compact interlocking system
between the fiber and the soil system. Different materials for
fiber being used for study are glass fiber (Pazare et.al 2002),
Nylon fiber (Jain et al, 2003), synthetic fibre like
polypropylene fibres (Consoli et.al), Polyester fibre (Kaniraj
et.al), fragmented rubber shredded tyre (Lindh & Mattsson
2004) etc.
and Maximum dry density values for each case. For any
series, the CBR tests were conducted for the clay mixed with
particular fiber length and percentage of the fiber by weight
at OMC both in unsoaked and soaked condition. All the tests
were conducted as per I.S. codal provision [IS 2720, Part 7
(1980) and Part 16 (1987) ].
The tests were performed for various parameters of
clay fiber mixtures as given in Table 3.
The mixing of fibers and clay was done manually with
proper care for preparing homogeneous mixture at each
stage of mixing.
Clay
CI
2.41
42%
23%
1.58
19.2
3.8
2.1
Jute
fiber
0.5cm
Jute
fiber
1.0cm
Jute
fiber
2.0cm
Jute spoil
Coir
Sabai grass
Density (g/cc)
1.47
1.40
0.639
Diameter (mm)
0.03-0.14
0.1-0.45
0.955 (av.)
Length of jute
used
Fiber (mm)
Coir
fiber
1.0cm
20, 10, 5
Coir
fiber
0.5cm
Coir
fiber
2.0cm
2.0%
Sabai
grass
fiber
0.5cm
Sabai
grass
fiber
1.0cm
Sabai
grass
fiber
2.0cm
% OF
Fiber
CBR
MDD
OMC
0.0%
1.58
1.0%
1.53
1.5%
1.51
21.4
5.1
3.7
2.0%
1.5
21.9
5.5
4.3
Unsoaked
Soaked
19.2
3.8
2.1
21
4.8
3.2
2.5%
1.49
22.4.
3.8
1.0%
1.52
21.5
4.8
3.3
1.5%
1.49
22.1
5.2
3.9
2.0%
1.48
22.8
5.7
4.5
2.5%
1.47
23
5.4
1.0%
1.51
22
4.5
3.1
1.5%
1.48
22.4
4.8
3.7
2.0%
1.46
23.2
5.3
4.2
2.5%
1.45
23.7
4.8
3.6
1.0%
1.56
19.7
3.5
1.5%
1.54
20.1
5.3
3.9
2.0%
1.53
20.5
5.8
4.4
2.5%
1.51
20.8
5.4
4.2
1.0%
1.52
19.9
5.2
3.7
1.5%
1.51
20.3
5.5
4.1
2.0%
1.5
20.6
4.8
2.5%
1.49
20.7
5.6
4.5
1.0%
1.51
20
4.8
3.6
1.5%
1.5
20.5
5.3
4.1
2.0%
1.49
21.2
5.7
4.6
2.5%
1.48
21.2
5.3
4.3
1.0%
1.51
20.2
4.2
2.8
1.5%
1.49
20.7
4.4
3.1
2.0%
1.47
21.5
4.7
3.6
2.5%
1.45
22.6
4.5
3.3
1.0%
1.49
21
4.4
1.5%
1.47
22.1
4.6
3.4
2.0%
1.45
22.7
4.9
3.7
2.5%
1.44
23.1
4.6
3.4
1.0%
1.49
22.2
4.2
2.9
1.5%
1.477
22.8
4.3
3.2
2.0%
1.45
23.4
4.5
3.5
2.5%
1.43
23.9
4.3
3.2
The results show that as the fiber content increases, the MDD
decreases. Also, as the fiber length increases, the MDD
decreases.
Effect of random mixing of natural fibers for the improvement clayey soil in Sub-grade construction of Road
6
5.5
5
CBR
6.5
4.5
1.6
MDD VS % OF FIBER
1.58
1.56
1.54
3.5
MDD
1.52
3
0.0%
1.5
1.48
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
1.46
2.5%
3.0%
1.44
1.42
0.0%
2.0%
% Fiber
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
% FIBER
5
3.5
3
2.5
2
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
% Fiber
OMC VS % FIBER
23.5
23
22.5
OMC
22
21.5
21
20.5
20
19.5
19
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
% FIBER
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
6
5.5
5
CBR
4.5
Clay with Coir fiber 1%
Clay with Coir fiber 1.5%
Clay with Coir fiber 2%
Clay with Coir fiber 2.5%
4
3.5
3
0
0.5
1.5
3.
5
4.5
CBR
4.
3.5
3
5.
2.5
6.
2
0
0.5
1.5
7.
In a similar study, for improvement of properties of Black
cotton soils through randomly mixed natural reinforcement of
jute and coir fiber of various aspect ratios and proportions by
weight, it has been reported that maximum improvement in
terms of soaked CBR Value was observed at 2% of the fiber
irrespective of the types of materials (Gosavi, Patil, Mittal
and Saran, 2003). With the increase in proportion of added
jute fiber in sandy clay soil Pal et. al. (2010) also reported
gradual increase in CBR value from 0.5% to 1% of added
jute fiber of different length of 5mm, 10mm and 15mm.
The decrease of CBR value above optimum fiber content or
optimum fiber length may be due to the fact that, at that fiber
content or fiber length, fiber quantities are higher enough to
cause more fiber-fiber interaction than fiber-soil particle
interaction.
8.
9.
10.
CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions may be drawn from the present
study.
1. With the increase of the percentage of all types of
fibers with the used soil within the range tested in this
investigation, MDD decreases and OMC increases.
2. There is a considerable increase in both unsoaked and
soaked CBR value for clay when mixing with the
increasing of percentage of all three types of
randomly distributed natural fibers upto 2% of the dry
weight of soil, where after the value decreases.
3. Both unsoaked and soaked CBR value is maximum
for fiber length of 10mm for all types of fibers mixed
with the clay taken in this study. And optimum
percentage of fiber inclusion is 2%
REFERENCES:
1.
2.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Improvement in CBR of the Expansive Soil Subgrades with a Single Reinforcement Layer
A.K.Choudhary, Associate Professor, Deptt. of Civil Engg., NIT Jamshedpur, India, Email: drakchoudharycivil@gmail.com
K.S.Gill, Associate Professor, Deptt. of Civil Engg., GNDEC Ludhiana, India, Email: kulbirgillkulbir@yahoo.co.in
J.N.Jha, Professor and Head, Deptt. of Civil Engg., GNDEC Ludhiana, India, Email: jagadanand@gmail.com
S.K. Shukla, Associate Professor and Program Leader, Discipline of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, Edith Cowan
University, Perth, WA 6027, Australia, Email: s.shukla@ecu.edu.au
ABSTRACT: The performance of a pavement is very sensitive to the characteristics of the soil subgrade, which provides a
base for the whole pavement structure. It is therefore of utmost importance that the performance of such pavements is
improved by adopting proper design and construction methodology. This paper presents the results of a series of California
bearing ratio (CBR) and swell tests to evaluate the beneficial effects of placing a single layer of reinforcement horizontally at
varying depths from the top surface of the subgrade soil. The position of the reinforcing layer is optimized for two different
types of reinforcement namely, geogrid and jute geotextile. Results revealed that insertion of a single layer of horizontal
reinforcement placed within the specimen at certain specified depth from the top of the compacted specimen not only controls
the swell potential significantly but also improves the CBR value considerably.
INTRODUCTION
Problems associated with pavement construction become
more critical when the subgrade consists of expansive soils.
In India, expansive soils cover about 0.8106 Km2 area,
approximately one fifth of its surface area [1]. It is therefore
of utmost importance that the performance of such pavements
is improved by adopting proper design and construction
methodology. Reinforced earth technique is now being
widely used for various geotechnical engineering
applications. However, the application of reinforced earth in
the construction of pavements especially over poor and
problematic subgrades is limited. Several researchers have
conducted investigations using different types of
reinforcements and materials and reported that the provision
of a geomembrane layer can effectively restrain the heave
and swell pressure of underlying expansive soil [1].
Geosynthetics made from synthetic fibers are preferred over
other reinforcing materials in case of important highway
projects because of their strength and durability; however,
these materials are expensive resulting in higher project cost
and may not be environmental friendly in due course of time
under adverse condition. On the other hand, geotextiles made
from natural fibers such as jute, coir, sisal, and palm may
provide an economical and ecofriendly substitute to
geosynthetics for low cost road projects in rural areas,
especially where they are easily available. This paper
describes results of a series of CBR and swells tests to
evaluate the beneficial effects of placing a single layer of
horizontal reinforcement at varying depths from the top
surface of the expansive subgrade soil. The aim of the paper
is to optimize the position of the reinforcing layer for two
different types of reinforcement used in the investigation,
namely- geogrid and jute geotextile.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
Materials Used
The soil used in the present investigation was collected from
UCIL, Jadugoda mines area, Jamshedpur. The grain size
distribution curve of the soil is shown in Figure 1. Table 1
Parameter
FSI (%)
MDD
(kN/m3)
OMC (%)
Value
62.50
17.10
18.20
1.47
0.27
Jute Geotextile
Natural jute
fiber (woven)
1.49
3.2
4.00
2.81
Annular
Surcharge
Weight
Loading Plunger
Top Surface of
Compacted Soil
d
z
Geogrid Layer
147mm
130mm
Soil Sample
Base Plate
150mm
6
5
Geogrid
Jute T extile
3
2
1
0
0
0.5
1.5
Improvement in CBR of the expansive soil subgrades with a single reinforcement layer
9
8
1
1.50
1.6
1.4
Geogrid
Jute T extile
1.2
1
CBR (%)
Load (kN)
1.8
0.8
0.6
6
5
0.4
0.2
10
12.5
7.5
2.5
0.5
Penetration (mm)
3
0
0.5
1.5
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.50
1
12.5
10
7.5
2.5
0.5
1.50
Load (kN)
0.25
Penetration (mm)
Geogrid
1.7
Jute T extile
CBRI
1.5
1.3
1.1
0.9
0.7
0.5
0
0.5
1.5
230
210
Jute T extile
PLR
1.3
1.1
0.9
0.7
0.5
0
0.5
1.5
190
Secant Modulus, MPa
170
150
Geogrid
130
110
90
70
50
0
0.5
1.5
REFERENCES
1. Choudhary, A.K, Gill, K.S. and Jha, J.N. (2011),
Improvement in CBR values of expansive soil
subgrade using geosynthetics, Proc. Indian
Geotechnical Conference, 569-572.
2. Choudhary, A.K, Jha, J.N and Gill, K.S. (2010) A
study on CBR behavior of waste plastic reinforced
soil, Emirates Journal of Engineering Research,
15(1), 51-57.
weight of reinforced
cement concrete = 25 kN / m3
be supported (H) = 7
m
of
internal
= 30
Coefficient of friction
at base = 0.5
Thickness
of
stem
at Bearing Capacity of
intersection = 0.8 m (H/12 to soil (qf) = 200 kN / m2
H/8)
Projection of base slab
towards toe (0.20 B to 0.40 B)
=1m
Variable Parameters
Height of backfill to
Magnitude
(kN/m2)
Factor -1,
Direction Y
20.6667
20.6667
Laod case
Case 1. Self weight of retaining wall
62
62
124
122.44
98.128
Table 3 and 4
show that the overall weight of the
retaining wall increases due to shelf provision but upward
soil pressure
and the moment at the toe reduces
considerably and due to whoich the stability of wall with
shelf increases. It also can be seen that the earth pressure on
the stem reduces due to provision of the shelf. Table 5
idicates that the bending moment in both the direction
reduces byy the provision of shelf up to plate No. 9 i. e.
above the shelf and it increases below the shelf up to plate
No. 15. It can be observed that there is considerable
reduction in the bending moment too.
COMPARISON OF CANTILEVER RETAINING
WALL WITHOUT AND WITH SHELF AT MID
SPAN OF RETAINING WALL
1. Support reactions
Table3 Comparison of Support reactions
Load
Case
Retaining Wall
without Shelf
Fy kN
Fz kN
Fy kN
-169
-179
-128.12
-32.034
-32.034
Case 4
-62
Case 5
-62
Case 6
-248
-124
Case 7
274
210
Case 8
142
209.0
Case 1.
Case 2
Case 3
Fz kN
deflection.
3. Bending Moments
Table5 Comparison of bending moments
Plate
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Retaining Wall
without Shelf
Mx
My
kNm/m
kNm/m
-39.221
-12.843
-157.04
-22.787
112.479
15.388
25.353
7.61
228.908
21.652
164.3
0.932
113.196
3.044
74.008
2.371
45.146
2.038
25.022
1.664
12.048
1.294
4.634
0.925
1.192
0.551
0.132
0.214
-
Retaining Wall
with Shelf
Mx
My
kNm/m
kNm/m
-25.364
-8.743
-105.949
-16.245
35.607
3.112
10.648
2.407
111.788
10.54
78.952
0.214
51.676
1.042
28.372
0.66
7.452
-0.808
25.025
2.523
12.049
1.19
4.634
0.938
1.192
0.55
0.132
0.214
17.856
6.705
2. Support moments
Table4 Comparison of support moments
Load
Case
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Retaining Wall
without Shelf
My kNm Mz kNm
0
-238.92
192.18
48.051
Case 4
-93
Case 5
-93
Case 6
Case 7
Case 8
0
0
0
-372
412.011
213.48
0
0
0
-186
315.03
313.56
5.
Displacements
2.
Investigations, Design and Execution of Soil Nailing Under Varied Geotechnical Environment
S.B. Suri, Chief Consultant, AECS Engineering & Geotechnical Services Pvt. Ltd., Noida, sbsuri@aecs.co
Nakul Dev, Senior Consultant, AECS Engineering & Geotechnical Services Pvt. Ltd., Noida, enndev@aecs.co
Thomas Joseph, GM (Technical), AECS Engineering & Geotechnical Services Pvt. Ltd., Noida, thomasj@aecs.co
Sanjeev Trehan, Senior Manager, AECS Engineering & Geotechnical Services Pvt. Ltd., Noida, strehan@aecs.co
ABSTRACT: Soil Nailing Technique is gaining popularity for stabilizing insitu natural & steep cut slopes. It is increasingly being
employed in urban environment for protection of underground structures like multilevel basements, underground parking lots &
shopping malls. Soil nailing involves investigations for soil parameters, analysis of slope using geotechnical software with input
parameters determined during field & laboratory investigations to determine a factor of safety and execution of soil nailing
technique using details such as diameter, spacing & length of nails obtained in analysis. Anchoring with wire mesh and shotcreting
for facial treatment/aesthetics is also often resorted to. This paper presents case histories of 3 Nos. projects wherein AECS
Engineering & Geotechnical Services Pvt. Ltd. (AECS) was associated with investigations, design & analysis and installation of
nails in one project, while in the other twoprojects, only investigations & execution of the soil nailing system were the
responsibility of AECS. These projects were located in different regions of the country and had varied geotechnical settings in
terms of soil type, shear strength parameters and pull out strength. Detailed methodology, analysis and steps for installation of nails
have been presented for each of the presented case studies. Based on experience gained in investigations, design, analysis and
installation, points needing special attention are enumerated.
.
INTRODUCTION
Soil nailing consists of reinforcing the soil mass by introducing
a series of thin elements called Nails to resist tension, bending
and shear forces. The reinforcing elements are made of round
cross-section steel bars called Nails which are installed subhorizontally and are either driven or grouted in pre-bored holes.
Soil nailing technique has been used for stabilising both insitu
natural and steep cut slopes. In urban areas, this technique is
also used to construct temporary or permanent retaining
structures to support the ground close to neighbouring
structures that is sensitive to deform, for protection of
underground structures like multi level basements, underground
parking lots, malls and other commercial & residential high rise
buildings and has proved to be a suitable & economical option.
It is reported in the literature that this technique can save about
10% to 30 % of the cost as compared to other retaining
structures [1&2]. AECS experience supports this statement.
INVESTIGATIONS
Prerequisite for undertaking analysis of slope to be stabilized is
determination of the index & engineering properties of soil.
Besides, co-efficient of friction between nail and surrounding
soil (driven nails) or between grout and soil (grouted nails) is
required. A comprehensive soil investigations programme is
planned to obtain the required parameters and/or adopted from
available soil report. To determine the coefficient of friction,
pull out tests are performed in the slope cut to a desired angle
with the horizontal.
Soil nailing normally starts from the top of the slope and
gradually proceeds towards bottom of the slope in stages.
Each stage is normally between 1.5m to 2.0 m deep.
Shotcrete (of adequate thickness) is applied on any layer
comprising of loose debris (normally removed) all along
the periphery of the area to be stabilized in case the loose
debris is to be left in place.
Face of the excavation to the designed slope is made for a
width of 10 m and a bench wide enough to accommodate
driving hammer at the bottom at each stage. On completion
of nailing of first full length of an excavated face in the
same plane, next stage is excavated and nailed. The
process is repeated till the bottom of proposed excavation
is reached. Completion process shall include nailing, fixing
of steel mesh and welding/bolting of bearing plates to each
nail.
The driven nails as per nailing scheme for stabilization of
cut slope are installed with a Pneumatic Hammer- Head
without prior boring to accommodate the nail upto desired
length. The nail is driven at an angle of 10-15 degree to the
horizontal [1].
Based on above procedure, the calculated number of top
layers of Driven Nails of given length and specified
diameter at designed spacing both in vertical & horizontal
directions as per approved design are installed.
Fixing of steel mesh of designed gauge with specified
opening size to protect the surface erosion.
Fixing bearing plates of as per design (say 200x200x6 mm)
to each nail.
Finishing with shotcrete of suitable proportions & adequate
thickness for surface protection Shotcrete provides a
continuous supporting layer over the excavated face that
can also serve to fill voids and cracks on the excavated
face [3].
Investigation, Design & Execution of soil nailing under varied geotechnical environment
Typ
e of
Nail
Gro
uted
Dri
Origi
Depth
Spacing (m)
Effective
nal
from
Length
Leng
Rail
of Nail
Vert. Hor.
th of
Top
(m)
Nail
(m)
First row of Grouted nails deleted
1.3
0.3
0.5
15
15
1.55
0.3
0.4
15
15
32*
32
28
ven
Nail
s
2.3
2.63.6
3.69.0
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
15
8
15
8.3
0.4
0.3
6.3
INTRODUCTION
Expansive soils pose problems for civil engineers in general
and for geotechnical engineers in particular by virtue of their
capacity for undergoing volumetric changes consequent upon
changes in moisture regime [1]. Expansive clays swell or
increase in their volume when they imbibe water and shrink
in their volume on evaporation of water [2]. These volumetric
changes cause damage to lightly loaded structures founded in
them such as foundations, retaining walls, pavements,
airports, side-walks, canal beds and linings [1]. As the lightly
loaded structures cannot counteract the swelling pressure
caused by expansive clays, they are subjected to severe
cracking. The hazards caused by expansive soils have been
recorded in countries all over the world including America,
Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Iran, Mexico and South
Africa [1].
To counteract the problems posed by expansive soils, many
innovative techniques have been developed. Belled piers [1],
granular pile-anchors [3, 4] and chemical stabilization with
lime and fly ash [1, 5, 6, 7] have been suggested for
mitigating heave problems.
Apart from the above techniques, geosynthetic inclusions as a
technique of random reinforcement have also been found
quite effective in controlling swell and shrinkage [8, 9, 10].
Discrete fibre inclusions in soils as a mode of random
reinforcement resulted in an improved strength behaviour of
soils [11, 12, 13]. Randomly distributed coir fibres were also
found to be effective in reducing swelling of expansive soils
[14]. Combination of fly ash and polypropylene fibres was
also found to have reduced swelling and shrinkage
characteristics of expansive soils [15, 16].
Consolidation settlement and swelling of fibre-reinforced
samples decreased whereas hydraulic conductivity and
shrinkage limit increased slightly by increasing fibre content
and length [17]. Swelling pressure decreased as a result of the
inclusion of expanded polystyrene geofoam placed between
an expansive soil and a rigid wall [18]. Multifilament fibre is
also promising additive for mitigating swelling potential of
bentonite [19].
2.73
79
26
53
14
44
42
200
S% =
H
*100
H
(1)
REFERENCES
1. Chen, F. H. (1988). Foundations on expansive soils,
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam.
2. Holtz, W.G. and Gibbs, H.J. (1956). Engineering
properties of expansive clays, Transactions, ASCE, Vol.
121, pp 641-677.
3. Phanikumar, B.R. (1997). A Study of Swelling
Characteristics of and Granular Pile Anchor foundation
System in Expansive Soils. PhD thesis, Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University, Hyderabad, India.
4. Phanikumar, B. R., Sharma, R. S., Rao, A. S. and
Madhav, M. R. (2004). Granular pile-anchor foundation
(GPAF) system for improving the engineering behaviour
of expansive clay beds, Geotechnical Testing Journal,
American Society for Testing Materials, Vol. 27, No. 3,
pp 279-287.
ABSTRACT: The model test results on lateral response of piles due to an adjacent excavation in loose sandy soils are
presented in the paper. The model tests have been conducted on the aluminium pile having a 25 mm outer diameter and 1 m
long, placed at different locations behind a retaining wall supported excavation. In real field situations, the indirect loading on
the pile due to an adjacent excavation is superimposed with direct loads. In view of this, the pile model testing has been done
in two stages i.e. initially the pile was subjected to combined axial and lateral loading and excavations carried out in the second
stage. The results indicate that the effect of indirect loading is less significant for the pile located beyond at a distance of 20
times the pile diameter from excavations. The safe distances of the pile from an adjacent excavation are also discussed in the
paper.
INTRODUCTION
Pile foundations are normally designed to support direct
loads, which are applied to the pile cap from superstructure.
However, due to urbanization with developments in terms of
the increased construction activity, the piles may also be
subjected to indirect loads induced from the ground
movements due to adjacent excavations during its service
life. One of the main design constraints in this case is to
prevent or minimize damages to the pile supported buildings
due to indirect loadings. Although an excavation will cause
both vertical and lateral soil movements, lateral soil
movement is considered to be more critical, as piles are
usually designed to sustain significant vertical loads. In
contrast, lateral loads imposed on piles due to adjacent
excavations induce an additional bending moments and cause
deflection of the piles, which may lead to structural distress
and even failure in some cases. Therefore, it is essential to
enumerate the effect of indirect loading on the lateral
response of piles to evaluate the performance and integrity of
pile foundations.
An attempt have made by various researchers [1, 2] to study
the behavior of piles due to lateral soil movements using a 2d plane strain analysis. The response of piles due to an
adjacent excavation was studied in two phases [3]. In the first
phase, the soil movements due to excavations were predicted
using 2-d finite element model and in the second phase, pile
responses were analyzed using the boundary element method.
Few researchers [4, 5] have attempted to study the response
of piles due to an adjacent excavation by assuming uniform
soil movement profiles using 3-d finite element method. A
very few researchers [6] have attempted to study the lateral
response of pile due to an adjacent excavation using
experimental investigation. An attempt have also made to
study the effect of vertical load on the lateral response of both
short and long piles in sandy and clayey soils [7, 8]. The
following important gaps were identified in the subject area
250
100
150
500
Excavation
2000
All dimensions are in mm (Not to scale)
Fig.3 Experimental model test plan for simulation of
excavations adjacent to the pile.
can be noted from the figure that the bending moment of the
pile under pure excavation is less as compared to the pile
under coupled loading.
Bending Moment (N.mm)
-10000
5000
10000
15000
20000
200
400
600
BM due to excavation
Pure excavation
800
20.0
-5000
Depth (mm)
15.0
1200
Xp/D = 6
Xp/D = 10
Xp/D = 20
10.0
Xp/D = 30
5.0
0.0
0.0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
1000
He/Be = 1.2
20
He/Be = 0.8
He/Be = 0.4
Direct load
15
10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
He/Be = 1.2
16000
He/Be = 0.8
He/Be = 0.4
12000
8000
4000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
REFERENCES
1. Stewart, D.P., Jewell, R.J. and Randolph, M.F. (1993),
Numerical modeling of piled bridge abutments on soft
ground, Jl. of Computers and Geotech, ASCE, 15(1), 2146.
2. Chen, L.F. (1994), The effect of lateral soil movements on
pile foundation. Ph.D. thesis University of Sydney,
Australia.
3. Poulos, H.G. and Chen, L.T. (1996) Pile response due to
unsupported excavation-induced lateral soil movement,
Can. Geot. Jour., 33, 670-677.
4. Pan, J.L., Goh, A.T.C., Wong, K.S. and Selby, A.R.
(2002), Three-dimensional analysis of single pile response
to lateral soil movement, Int. Jl. Numer. And Aanlyt.
Methd. on Geomech., 26, 747-757.
5. Karthigeyan, S., Ramakrishna, V.V.G.S.T. and Rajagopal,
K. (2004) 3-D Finite element analysis of single pile under
induced lateral soil movement. Int. E-conf. on Modern
Trends in Foun. Engg, IIT, Madras.
6. Leung, C.F., Chow, Y.K. and Shen, R.F. (2000),
Behaviour of pile subject to excavation-induced soil
movement, Jl. of Geotech. and Geoenv. Engineering,
ASCE, 126(11), 947-954.
7. Karthigeyan, S., Ramakrishna, V.V.G.S.T. and Rajagopal,
K. (2007) Numerical Investigation of the Effect of
Vertical Load on the Lateral Response of Piles Jl. of
Geotech. and Geoenv. Engineering ASCE, 133(5), 512521.
8. Karthigeyan, S., Ramakrishna, V.V.G.S.T. and Rajagopal, K.
(2005) Influence of vertical load on the lateral response of piles
in sand. Jl. of Computers and Geotechnics, 33, 121-131.
ABSTRACT: Most important problem faced by organic clay is low shear strength and high compressibility. Many structural
damages arise when foundations or roadways are built over low lying areas of Allepey district in Kerala, mainly in Kuttanad
Taluk which is soft organic clay. Modification of Kuttanad clay using admixtures like lime and Class F fly ash is being studied
in this work. It was observed that Kuttanad clay stabilized with lime gives higher strength than that with fly ash. Curing does
not show much effect in plasticity index for lime stabilized soil. Fly ash being waste product to be disposed, acts as a good
stabilizing agent.
INTRODUCTION
Most important problem encountered by geotechnical
engineers at construction site is that the properties of material
are unable to reach the required specification. These
problems are normally faced by soft soil such as organic clay.
Construction on soft organic soils can be problematic because
organic soils typically have low shear strength and are
susceptible to differential settlements. Depending on the
nature of the project, the design solution may involve option
of removal and replacement of the weak soils, ground
improvement alternatives such as stone columns, grouting,
wick drains, chemical stabilization, adoption of reinforced
earth technique etc [1]. Chemical stabilization with binders
can be undertaken rapidly and often at low cost, and therefore
chemical stabilization is becoming an important alternative.
Chemical stabilization of soft soils involves blending a binder
into the soil to increase its strength and stiffness through
chemical reactions. Addition of binder reduces water content
and binds the soil particles. Common binders include cement,
lime, fly ash, calcium salts, bituminous materials etc.
Fly ash is a fine residue collected from the burning of
pulverized coal in thermal power plants that traditionally has
been disposed in landfills [2]. Fly ash is a silt-size non
cohesive material having a relatively smaller specific gravity
than the normal soils [3]. The composition of fly ash varies
considerably depending on the nature of the coal burned and
the power plant operational characteristics [4]. Lime
stabilization refers to the stabilization of soil by the addition
of burned limestone products, either calcium oxide or
calcium hydroxide. The properties of soil-lime mixture vary
and depend upon the character of the clayey soil, time of
curing, the method and quantity of construction [5].
The use of lime as a natural stabilizing agent for clay will
produce a binder by slow chemical reactions mainly with
silicates in the clay mineral. Ca(OH)2 is formed due to
hydration process when lime (CaO) is added to soil. During
the hydration process, larger amount of pore water
Kuttanad
clay
2. 72
96
35
61
52
35
13
33
13.6
21.09
Locally available lime was used for the study and the
properties of which are given in Table 2. The fly ash used for
the study was collected from thermal power plant, Tuticorin
and the properties are given in Table 3. The grain size
distribution curve of Kuttanad clay and fly ash is shown in
Fig. 1.
Table 2 Properties of lime
Components
Calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2
Silica
Ferric oxide
Magnesium oxide (MgO)
Alumina
Carbon dioxide
Table 3 Properties of the fly ash
Property
Class
Specific Gravity
Silt content (%)
Clay content (%)
Sand content (%)
Amount (%)
90
1.5
0.5
1
0.2
3.0
Fly ash
F
2. 12
68
8
24
Improvement of Kuttanad clay using lime and fly ash - a comparative study
ABSTRACT: The conventional radial consolidation theories have been commonly employed to predict the behavior of
vertical drains in soft clay. It has been recognized that the economical design of a sand drain installation depends on a rational
assessment of the coefficient of consolidation with radial drainage. The present study considers the effect of density of drain
materials on the consolidation characteristics of Kuttanad clay. The drain materials used are sand, coir pith and fly ash. A
series of consolidation tests were conducted to study the consolidation characteristics. Samples were subjected to various
pressure intensities ranging from 10 kPa - 320 kPa. The values of coefficient of consolidation for radial drainage were
determined by log (de2/t) Vs Ur curve. It was found that as the density of drain material increases the coefficient of
consolidation and permeability decreases and a correlation for predicting cr /cv value was developed based on density of drain
material.
INTRODUCTION
Scarcity of land with good bearing capacity is one of the
major problems the world faces now. The problem of land
scarcity is assuming greater proportions day by day,
especially in the vicinity of urban areas much more compared
to the rural areas. This lack of good sites leads to the
construction of buildings on available land which may not be
good with respect to its bearing capacity. In early days, areas
having soft deposits were not preferred for construction. With
rapid industrialization along with tremendous growth in
transportation network, there is no choice but to build on soft
fine grained soils. Because of the large extent of soft clay
deposits and importance of associated problems, especially
civil engineering activities, the studies on settlement
characteristics is highly relevant to any geotechnical engineer.
For the safety of buildings it is necessary to improve the
quality of ground by adoption of some suitable ground
improvement technique. Deep foundations are a possible
solution as it may transfer the load to the adjacent competent
layer. But this alternative method is uneconomical, where the
thickness of weak deposits is very large in most of the
regions. The method of ground improvement technique
adopted depends on the soil to be treated and availability of
materials required for improving the soil and also on the cost
effectiveness. Compressible soils such as soft clayey soils,
loose silts and most organic soils maybe consolidated by
surcharging or preloading. The preload, is later completely
removed may be selected so as to achieve the required degree
of primary compression before construction of permanent
structure.
Vertical sand drains having circular cross-sections were
initially installed to accelerate the consolidation process by
shortening the drainage path from vertical to radial direction
.Nowadays sand is becoming a rare commodity. In order to
tackle that situation, sand has to be replaced by any other low
cost material. The materials used in the present study are
sand, coir pith, and fly ash. Several studies has been
conducted on the consolidation using radial drainage.
Sridharan et al [1] studied the consolidation behavior of
clayey soil under radial drainage. The theoretical and
experimental behaviors of soils under consolidation with
radial drainage was studied and compared on the same plot.
Comparative study of coefficient of consolidation and
coefficient of permeability between the cases of radial and
vertical drainage has been done. Mandal et al [2] used geocomposite (made of natural filter extracted from jute and
coir) as vertical drains for accelerating the consolidation
process in soft soils. In their study, it was found that the
drain is flexible, resistant to clogging, resistant to ultraviolet rays, relatively more permeable, strong in tension,
sufficiently durable, economical and environmental
superior over those made of geo-synthetics. Shroff et al [3]
conducted experimental study on radial drainage. In their
study, they found that the horizontal coefficient of
consolidation is considerably higher as compared to the
vertical coefficient of consolidation of soil. This behavior
also depends upon the depth of soil strata, spacing of the
drains and size of the drains. Jun-chun Chai et al [4]
studied the factors affecting the vertical drain behavior.
They found that the discharge capacity of the drain is one of
the main influencing factors in the vertical drain
behavior. They suggested that, the laboratory value of
hydraulic conductivity can be used for the design by
considering the possible reduction of hydraulic conductivity
in the field due to non uniformity of the sand and the partial
saturation in the field. Indrarethna et al [5] studied radial
consolidation of clay by using compressibility indices and
varying horizontal permeability. The influence of the Cc/Ck
(or Cr/Ck) ratio and the preloading increment ratio on the
consolidation process was presented. The analytical
predictions are compared with the experimental results using
a large scale consolidation chamber, and these predictions
show good agreement with the measured data. Kumara, et al Table 2 Properties of materials used in the study
[6] studied the advantages of using coir dust in vertical drains
Property
Sand
Coir pith
Fly ash
for the improvement of soft clay. The permeability and
Specific Gravity
2.60
0.50
2.12
consolidation characteristics of mixed materials of coir dust
and sea sand and sea sand alone are analyzed. The vertical
0.21mm
0.12mm
0.002mm
Effective
drain filled with mixture of coir dust and sea sand gave
Particle size
higher consolidation when compared with the clay without
(D10)
drain. Stalin et al [7] studied the improvement of soft clay
Maximum
1.98g/cc
0.13g/cc
1.17g/cc
using concrete waste as column material in the place of stone
density
aggregate. Consolidation and load test were conducted with
Minimum
1.50g/cc
0.11g/cc
1.08g/cc
and without different number of stone and concrete waste
density
columns for L/d ratio of 6.4. They found that concrete waste
4.4 10-2 1.44 10-2 0.4 10-5
Coefficient
can be effectively used instead of stone columns. The
of permeability
previous studies show that consolidation of clayey soil using
(cm/s)
preloading technique is an effective method for ground
improvement. Kuttanad region which is a unique agricultural
land in Kerala has got one of the problematic soils in the Method
world. However, consolidation of Kuttanad clay using sand, A series of consolidation test were conducted with vertical as
well as radial drainage using fixed ring oedometers. Central
coir pith and fly ash hasnt been much studied.
drainage was provided by inserting vertical drains of different
drain materials. Radial drainage alone is ensured by inserting
MATERIALS AND METHOD
polythene sheet at top and bottom of the ring, with central
holes having diameter equal to the diameter of the drain.
Materials
The soil used for the study was Kuttanad clay collected from Central holes in the soil mass were made using thin plastic
Alappuzha district, Kerala. Representative samples were tubes of outside diameter equal to the required diameter of the
collected from a depth of 1m. The natural properties of the drain. In the study 12mm diameter drain which corresponds to
soil and the particle size distribution curve are as shown in drain spacing ratio (diameter of the cell/diameter of the drain),
Table.1 and Fig.2 respectively. The properties of materials n = 5 was taken. The central hole is then filled with the drain
material. The consolidation cell was then placed in the loading
used in the present study are as shown in Table 2.
unit. Pressure was applied at various pressure intensities, 10,
20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 kPa. Effect of different drain materials
Table 1: Properties of Kuttanad clay
on the consolidation characteristics was studied. Sand passing
Value
Properties
through 425-m sieve and retained on 75- m IS sieve, coir
Natural Moisture Content
90%
pith passing through 1.18mm and retained on 425-m and fly
Specific Gravity
2.02
ash passing through 75- m sieve are used in the present
Clay fraction
38%
study. In order to study the variation of density of drain
Silt fraction
52%
materials, all drain materials where filled at three different
Sand fraction
10%
densities. Sand drains was filled at various densities of
Liquid limit
100%
1.98g/cc, 1.74g/cc,1.5g/cc, coir pith drains was filled at
Plastic limit
36%
0.13g/cc,0.12g/cc,0.11g/cc and fly ash drains was filled at
Shrinkage limit
25%
1.17g/cc, 1.12g/cc,1.08g/cc. The values of coefficient of
Plasticity Index
64%
consolidation using vertical drainage, cv and coefficient of
Optimum Moisture Content
33%
consolidation using radial drainage, cr is determined by using
Maximum Dry density
1.36g/cc
log (H2/t) Vs Uv curve [8] and log (de2/t) Vs Ur curve [1]
respectively, where de is the diameter of influence. The
coefficient of vertical permeability, kv, coefficient of radial
permeability, kr, were calculated from the corresponding
values of coefficient of consolidation using the relation
(1)
and
(2)
where
Fig.1 Particle Size Distribution Curve for Kuttanad clay
(3)
and
(4)
(b)
(c)
Fig.3 cr/cv (avg) values for (a) sand drain, (b) coir pith
drain (c) fly ash drain at various densities
Fig.2 cr/cv (max) values for sand, coir pith and fly ash
drains
For various densities the average of cr/cv value [cr/cv (avg)] is
calculated. The cr/cv (avg) for different densities is as shown in
Fig 3(a), Fig 3(b), Fig 3(c) for sand drain, coir pith drain and
fly ash drain respectively. It was found that the cr /cv value
decreases linearly with the increase in the density of drain
material and it was possible to develop correlation for
predicting values of cr /cv for different densities of drain
materials with very good correlation coefficients.
value for sand drain is high when compared to coir pith drain
and fly ash drain. The maximum value of kr/kv obtained [kr/kv
(max)] for different drain is as shown in Fig 4.
7.
8.
Fig.4 kr/kv( max) values for sand, coir pith and fly
ash drains
CONCLUSION
From the various test conducted it can be seen that the rate of
consolidation and permeability is more for sand drain when
compared with fly ash drain and coir pith drain. This may be
due to the higher permeability of sand comparing with coir
pith and fly ash. Coir pith drain shows higher rate of
consolidation and permeability when compared with fly ash
drains.. The compression index has not much effect on the
type of drain material. It remains almost constant.
Correlations with very high values of correlation coefficients
were obtained linearly between cr /cv ratio and different
density of drain materials.
REFERENCES
1. Sridharan., Prakash, K., Asha, S.R., (1996),
Consolidation behaviour of clayey soils under radial
drainage, Geotecnical testing journal., Vol 19, No:4,
pp.421-431
2. Mandal., J.N., Kanagi, V.S., (1997), Design of a new
geocomposite vertical drains for ground improvement.
Proceedings of Indian Geotecnical Conference,
Vadodara, pp.305-306.
3. Shroff., A.V., Patel, S.M., (1997), Experimental
study on radial drainage using vertical drains,
Proceedings of geotechnical conference, Vadodara,
pp.323-324.
4. Jun-chun
Chai.,
Norihiko
Miura.,
(1999),
Investigation of factores affecting vertical drain
behavior,
Journal
of
geotechnical
and
geoenvironmental engineering, pp 216-225
5. Indraratna,B., .Rujikiatkamjorn,C., Sathananthan,I.,
(2005), Radial consolidation of clay using
compressibility indices and varying horizontal
permeability, canadian geotechnical journal, pp 1-39
6. Kumara., G.H.A.J.J., Dilrukshi,A.L.A., Suasinghe,N.N.,
(2008) Study on advantages of using coir dust in vertical
drains for the improvement of soft clay., Proceedings
from international conference on building education
and research Feb 2008.,pp 1343-1357
Stalin
V.K,
Palaniappan
KE.A
(2009).,
Improvement of problematic clay using concrete waste
material.,International J, of Engg. Research & Indu.
Appls (IJERIA). ISSN. Vol.1, No.VII,(2008),pp 61-69
Sridharan., Prakash, K., Asha, S.R., (1996),
Consolidation behaviour of clayey soils under radial
drainage, Geotecnical testing journal., Vol 18, No:4,
pp.58-68
INTRODUCTION
Malaysia is comprised of non-contiguous land masses. The
Peninsular Malaysia on the west and the two states of
Sarawak and Sabah on the Borneo Island in the east are
separated by more than 600 km by the South China Sea. The
problems of soft alluvial and marine soil deposits are,
however, common to both parts of Malaysia. Peat swamps
too are a problematic ground condition in East and West
Malaysia. There are about 2.7 million hectares of peat swamp
in Malaysia. Of this, about 63% or about 1.7 million hectares
are in the Sarawak state. The soft alluvial, marine, and peat
deposits pose problems of stability and settlement of
structures built on such deposits. Preloading with
prefabricated vertical drains is the common method of ground
improvement employed in Sarawak. This requires importing
of preload material to the site and removing the same after
the treatment. Long time periods are also required for ground
treatment by preloading. Electro-osmotic consolidation is an
effective ground improvement technique in fine grained soils.
However, there are not many studies reported on the
effectiveness of electro-osmotic consolidation in peat and
organic soils.
AIM
Laboratory experiments were carried out with the aim to
investigate the effectiveness of the electro-osmosis technique
in strengthening of peat and soft organic soils. The specific
objectives included the evaluation of influence of selected
parameters on the electro-osmosis phenomenon in peat and
organic soils. The paper explains the experiments carried out
on two peats and an organic soil. More details of the study
are available in [1-5].
MATERIALS
One peat sample was taken from a location along the MiriMarudi road, about 35 km from Miri. Another peat sample
was collected from Similajau, about 160 km south-west of
Miri. The organic soil was taken from Sibu in the central
region of Sarawak. A clayey silt sample with low organic
content also was used as a reference material to compare the
electro-osmotic consolidation phenomenon in highly organic
552
643
87
Organic
content, N (%)
97
96
49
11
Von Post
classification
H8
H8
Specific
gravity, G
1,47
2.56
Liquid limit, wl
413
323
245
62
Plastic limit,
wp
257
244
155
43
Plasticity
index, PI
156
79
90
19
Shenbaga R. Kaniraj
(a)
Fig. 2 Test tank with drainage at the bottom of the test bed
(b)
(c)
Fig. 1 Scanning electron micrographs of: (a) Miri-Marudi
peat, (b) Similajau peat, and (c) Sibu organic soil [1, 2]
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The experimental procedure, in general, involved the
following sequence of steps: a) preparation of test material
peat or soil and the EVD, b) preparation of test beds, and
0a 180 V/m
Full widthb, 1-1c, & 2-1d
Present, Absente
No polarity reversal, & 8 24hf
Pumping interval
3 12hg
0 V/m refers to self-weight consolidation tests in which no
voltage gradient was applied. bThe EVD nearly covered the
full width of the test bed at the anode and cathode ends. cOne
15mm wide EVD strip was used at both anode and cathode
ends. dTwo 15mm wide EVD strips were used at the anode
and one 15mm wide EVD strip was used at the cathode (Fig.
3b). eLong roots present in the peat samples were removed
before preparing the test bed. fThe polarity of the electrodes
were reversed at the specified intervals (in hours) of time. gIn
tests with plastic drainage pipes in the test beds (Fig. 3b).
a
RESULTS
Effectiveness of Electro-osmotic Consolidation
Figure 4 shows the surface profile of Miri-Marudi Road peat
test bed without roots consolidated under 80V/m voltage
gradient.
554
555
552
554
Total volume of
water drained, ml
1160
1340
1610
1466
Sui, kPa
2.25
1.32
0.92
1.32
Suf, kPa
11.4718.80
10.8924.42
15.3434.04
8.7728.69
Maximum
increase in Su,
736
1750
3600
2073
(%)
a
Duration of each test was 8 days and 2anodes-1cathode
configuration was used in all tests. bInitial undrained
strength. bFinal undrained strength (increases from cathode
to anode).
Shenbaga R. Kaniraj
From the results shown in Table 3 and from other tests it can
be inferred that the voltage gradient had a significant effect
on the outcome of electro-osmotic consolidation. The volume
of water drained from the test beds and the undrained
strength generally increased as the voltage gradient increased.
The maximum voltage gradient for optimum results appeared
to be in the region 120V/m.
Effect of Pumping Interval
Figure 6 shows the results of water drained from three Sibu
organic soil test beds with initial water content in the range of
219-221%. In the self-weight consolidation test bed (12 hours
pumping interval), 138ml of water flowed out. Under a
voltage gradient of 80V/m and 3h and 6h pumping intervals,
1014 ml and 991ml of water drained out, respectively.
INTRODUCTION
Scarcity of land with good bearing capacity is one of the
major problems the world faces now. This leads to the
construction of buildings on available land which may not be
good with respect to its bearing capacity. For the safety of
buildings it is necessary to improve the quality of ground by
adoption of some suitable ground improvement technique.
The method of ground improvement technique adopted
depends on the soil to be treated and availability of materials
required for improving the soil and also on the cost
effectiveness. Effort of geotechnical engineers is to develop
technically viable and economically feasible methods to
improve the properties of soil to suit the requirements of
engineering structure.
Soft clays represent a well known category of problematic
soils. The fact that soft clay deposits are widespread and
often cause problems to structures in the form of foundation
failures, detailed study of effectiveness of various ground
improvement techniques suitable for these soils is of prime
importance. Studying the behavior of soft clays especially
requires a thorough determination of their geotechnical
parameters. They tend to have low shear strengths and to lose
shear strength further upon wetting or other physical
disturbances [1]. They can be plastic and compressible and
they expand when wetted and shrink when dried. They
develop large lateral pressures. They tend to have low
resilient modulus values. For these reasons, soft clays are
generally poor materials for foundations [2].
Usually when a strong bearing stratum is found only at large
depths beyond 15m, foundation expenses can become very
high and they may not commensurate with the cost of the
superstructure. This is particularly so in the case of small
scale structures and low-rise buildings subject to low to
moderate loads. On compressible soils, construction
problems arise during construction of embankments (railways
and highways). Therefore, an economical solution is often
looked at to improve the engineering properties of the
underlying soil rather than the use of deep foundations.
Values
2.58
65
33
14
32
15.4
22
88.2
Stone Dust
The stone dust used in the experiment is brought from a
crusher unit situated in Thrissur District, Kerala, India. Stone
Dust passing through 75 IS Sieve was used for the tests.
The specific Gravity of Stone dust is 2.5.
FlyAsh
The FlyAsh used for the experimental study is collected from
Neyveli Thermal power plant of Neyveli Lignite
Corporation (NLC), located at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, and
India. Class C Fly Ash, used for the study was collected from
Thermal Station 2 of NLC. The Specific Gravity of Fly Ash
was found to be 2.54.
Admixture Proportions and Tests Conducted
The specific gravity of clay, stone dust and fly ash are
determined by density bottle method according to IS:
1720(part-III/sec-I)1980. The proportions of stone dust and
flyash used along with the soil in the study ranges between
2-18%, with an increment of 4%.The following tests were
conducted on the soil samples mixed at different proportions
of flyash and stone dust. The liquid limit test were conducted
as per IS: 2720(Part 5)-1985. Standard proctor test was
carried out according to IS: 2720 (Part 7)-1980. Unconfined
compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted at optimum
moisture content (OMC) and Maximum dry density (MDD)
as per IS: 2720(Part 10)-1991.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Liquid limit test, IS light compaction, Unconfined
compressive strength tests were conducted with different
percentages of stone dust(R.D.)/flyash(F.A.) as admixtures in
soft clay for finding optimum percentage of additives.
A study on the effects of non pozzolanic and pozzolanic admixtures on the engineering properties of soft clay
Effect of fly ash and stone dust on OMC and MDD
The variations of compaction characteristics such as OMC
and MDD for the clay treated with stone dust and fly ash are
presented in Figures 1 & 2. From the figures, it can be seen
that there is a decrease in OMC and increase in MDD value
with increase in percentage of stone dust/ flyash. It is also
observed that the clay sample when replaced with 6% of
stone dust yielded maximum dry density of 15.99kN/m3 at
optimum moisture content of 19.67% and addition of 14%
flyash yielded maximum dry density of 16.7 kN/m3 at
optimum moisture content of 13.09%. The percentage
increase in the MDD at optimum levels of stone dust and
flyash additions to the clay are 4% and 9% respectively.
Fig.3 Influence of Stone Dust and Fly Ash on Liquid Limit
Effect of fly ash and stone dust on stress strain behaviour
The variations of stress-strain characteristics for the soft clay
treated with stone dust and fly ash are presented in Figures 4
& 5. From the figures, it can be seen that maximum stress
will be obtained with the addition of 14 % fly ash and 6%
stone dust. Stress is increasing till the optimum percentages
of admixtures reached. And further addition, have no effect
on the stress strain behaviour.
REFERENCES
1. Mitchell, J.K.,(1986), Practical Problems from surprising
soil Behavior, Journal of Geotechnical Geoenvironmental Engg, Vol. 112, No. 3, pp 255-289
2. Liu, C., and Evett, J.(2008), Soils and Foundations,
Pearson-Prentice Hall, Seventh Edition, Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey
3. Bhoominadhan. A. and Hari, S. (1999), Behavior of
flyash under static and cyclic loading, Proceedings of
Indian Geotechnical Conference, Calcutta, 324-326
4. Cabrera, J. G., and Woolley, G. R. (1994), Fly ash
utilization in civil engineering. Environmental aspects of
construction with waste materials, studies in
environmental
science,
Vol.
60,
Elsevier
Science,Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 345356
5. Cokca, E. (2001), Use Of class C fly ashes for the
Stabilization of an expansive soil, Journal of Geotech
and Geoenvironmental Engg, Vol. 127, 568-573
6. Phanikumar, B.R. and Sharma, R.S. (2004), Effect of
flyash on engineering properties of expansive soil,
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering Vol. 130(7), 764-767
7. Pandian,N.S.,Krishna,K.C.& Leelavathamma B., (2002),
Effect of Fly Ash on the CBR Behaviour of Soils,
Indian Geotechnical Conference, Allahabad, Vol.1,
pp.183-186.
8. T.G. Soosan, A, Sridharan, B .T Jose and B.M. Abraham,
(2005), Utilization of quarry dust to improve the
geotechnical properties of soils in Highway
Construction,
Geotechnical
testing
Journal
,
Vol.28(4),pp.391-400.
9. A.K. Gupta, A.K. Sachan, A.K. Sahu and S.
Kumar,(2002),Stabilization of black cotton soil using
crusher dust A waste product of Bundelkhand region,
Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference,
Allahabad, pp. 308-311.
10. Praveen Kumar, Satish Chandra, and Vishal, R. (2006).
Comparative study of different sub base materials,
Journal of Mat. in Civil Engineering Vol.18(4), 576-580.
11. A.K.Sabat, S.K.Das,(2009)Design of low volume rural
roads using lime stabilized expansive soil-quarry dust
mixes subgrade,Indian Highways,Vol 37(9) pp21-27,
12. M. S. Ali, and S. S. Korranne,(2011) Performance
analysis of expansive soil treated with stone dust and fly
ash, Electronics Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,
Vol.16 Bund. I, pp. 973-982.
ABSTRACT: Jack-up drilling units are regularly used in the offshore locations primarily to drill wells for exploration and
production of hydrocarbons. Majority of the jack-up units currently being used in offshore have independent foundations at the
bottom of their legs. In clays of soft to firm consistency, penetration of foundation of the jack-up units into the seabed and
subsequent withdrawal of it cause large movement and remoulding of the soil surrounding the foundation. Disturbance of soil
affects the existing foundations of nearby structures. Installation of new structures near to such footprints is also affected by
such disturbed zones of soil. The effect of deployment of jack-up units in soft to firm soil is discussed in the paper.
INTRODUCTION
Jack-up rigs are mobile drilling units used in offshore for
hydrocarbon exploration and production activities. During
exploratory activities no structure exists near its position.
However, during production phase, they are deployed
adjacent to well head platforms initially for drilling and many
times later for work-over operations. In areas where jack-up
rigs are deployed, the soil disturbance is a matter of
considerable interest for proper design of foundations nearby
as well as for the redeployment of jack-up units in future at
the site. While deploying a jack-up rig, its legs having large
foundations at their bottom (called spudcans) are pushed into
the seabed for safety and stability during its operation. In
soils of soft to firm consistency, the legs penetrate up to
significant depths below the seafloor. Such penetrations
followed by withdrawal of the spudcans after the operation
cause large movement of soil in all directions and at the same
time reducing the strength of soil due to remoulding in a zone
in and around the path of penetration. In-situ measurements
of such cases of soil disturbance in actual sites are rarely
carried out as the cost of offshore operations is very high.
Normally, estimates of such disturbed zone and the reduction
of strength are approximated with available knowledge on the
subject. Two cases of jack-up rig deployment in western
offshore of India, are discussed, where the investigations
were made before and after deployment of rigs using
Geotechnical Vessel of ONGC Samudra Sarvekshak. The
result of investigations re-establishes some of the existing
knowledge and provides new information adding further
confidence to the geotechnical engineers.
CASE 1
The water depth at the site was 60.0 m. The soil condition is
presented in Table 1. These soil parameters were established
before the deployment of rig through detailed investigation
by carrying out CPTU (cone penetration test with pore
pressure measurement) and detailed laboratory tests on
recovered soil samples. Table 1 presents relevant parameters
required for assessment of spudcan penetration.
The soil profile comprises of clay up to a depth of 30.0 m.
The soil up to 7.8 m from the seabed is in very soft to soft
condition. Below 7.8 m, the profile shows firm to stiff clay.
Below the depth of 22.1 m, the soil is very stiff.
Table 1 Soil properties at site of case 1
Depth of
Soil
Su
Effective
'
layer below
type
(KN/m2) (degree)
Unit wt.
mudline (m)
(KN/m3)
0.0 to 7.8
Clay
4-20
5.5
7.8 to 22.1
Clay
40-90
8.0
Note: Su Undrained shear strength, ' drained angle of
internal friction
The effect of deployment of jack up drilling units in clayey soils at offshore locations- case studies
soil profile disappeared as a layer. Possibly, it was mixed
with the soft soil during the process of penetration of the
spudcans and subsequent withdrawal. The properties of the
soft soil in the footprint positions show a lot of variation with
respect to the values of water content, liquid limit and content
of fines. Fig. 3 shows the comparison of CPTU cone
resistance for the original and disturbed conditions. The ratio
of undrained shear strengths of original to disturbed soil was
found to be 1.5 to 2.0.
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
2.
3.
4.
OTHER APPLICATIONS
Deployment of jack-up and its subsequent withdrawal cause a
lot of local variation of strength and nature of the soil and its
effects need to be accounted for in the design and analysis of
foundations for installation of other structures in the area.
Some other related issues are discussed below.
Multiple Rig Deployment at the Sites
Geometry of jack-up units particularly size and spacing of
their spudcans often differs among different units. When
jack-up rigs are deployed at a site with soft to firm clay near
seabed, where earlier deployment of a different unit had
taken place, spudcans of the newly deployed jack-up rig tend
to slide towards the footprints already existing at the site.
Depending on the amount of overlap of spudcan and existing
footprint, spudcan size, stiffness of the legs of the jack-up rig
and the soil conditions such tendency and possibility of leg
damage vary. Possibility of jack up hitting the jacket and
damaging it can also not be ruled out. Therefore, a new
deployment at a site where there has been previous
deployment needs careful consideration. Knowledge of the
extent of disturbed zone and the changes in soil condition can
be of great use in this regard.
Design and Analysis of Piles of a Fixed Jacket Platform:
Fixed jacket type platforms in the offshore are mostly
supported by driven steel pipe piles. During their design the
stresses and displacement in response to loads are
determined. The soil near the seabed plays an important role
in the load-displacement behaviour of the piles, especially the
lateral load-displacement. Piles close to jack up deployment
area, where soils experience large movement and reduced
strength, are subjected to higher stresses and displacements
due to the relatively poor soil support surrounding the pile
[2]. Quantification of such effect is addressed in somewhat
conservatively at present in Indian offshore. Information
about the reduction of strength and the extent of disturbed
zone are required for analysis of such piles and needs further
research to establish more accurate guidelines.
CONCLUSION
The cases provided an insight into what happens when a large
footing is penetrated into the seabed. It is found from the
measurement that 1.
a.
b.
c.
Undrained
cohesion (C )
0.1 kN/m
Friction angle
()
29.5
Dilation angle
()
1.5
30 Mpa
50 Mpa
78 Mpa
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.1 kN/m
0.1 kN/m
Youngs
modulus (E )
31.5
38
Poissons
Ratio ( )
s
Unit weight
( )
16 kN/m
16.6 kN/m
17.6 kN/m
30 %
45 %
70 %
Relative
Density (%)
2.83 X 107 kN
Diameter of Pile
1.2m
Length of Pile
18m
Type of Pile
Concrete
Grade of concrete
M25
Poisson's ratio
0.15
Parametric studies
A series of 2D finite-element analyses were performed on a
single free-headed pile in homogenous sandy soil created on
horizontal ground. The soil properties and the dimensions of
the pile considered in these analyses are reported in Table 1
and Table 2. The responses of the piles under varying
surcharge load condition were analyzed on perfectly
horizontal ground. The analysis in the lateral direction was
performed using load control so that the lateral displacements
developed at various lateral load levels could be evaluated as
a percentage of pile size. The maximum lateral deflection in
case of constant diameter pile was limited to 120mm (i.e.,
0.1D as per Karthigeyan et al. 2007).
Results and Discussion
A pile of length 18m, surcharge loading at different position
A and B was observed. The sand profile was taken as
homogenous sandy soil with varying densities was
considered (RD 30%, 45% and 70%). The surface profile was
taken as perfectly horizontal ground. A surcharge load
varying from 50kN/m to 200kN/m was taken at different
loading position such that the effect of surcharge load
(pressure bulb) on the pile was varied. For the case of
interaction of surcharge load with the active wedge, the
loading was taken such that it starts at the tip of active wedge
for a span of 5m. For the case of surcharge load not to
interact with the active wedge, the loading was taken such
that it starts at a distance of 10m (double the span of
surcharge load) far from the tip of active wedge.
Calculation of Length of Active wedge formation
The table.3 represents the calculation of length of
active wedge formation as per the Indian Standard 2911.
Table.3 Calculation of Length of Active wedge formation
(As per IS 2911)
Relative Density
Modulus of
Distance of
(%)
Subgrade
Active Wedge
Reaction n
h
(kg/cm )
Loose Sand
0.26
1.89 m
Medium Sand
0.775
1.46 m
Dense Sand
2.075
1.05 m
Behavior of Pile due to Lateral Soil Movement under the influence of Surcharge Load
REFERENCES
1. ALMAS BEGUM, N. (2010). Soil Structure Interaction
of Laterally Loaded Pile and Pile Group on Sloping.
National Institute of Technology, Trichy.
2. Begam, N.A and Muthukkumaran, K. (2009).
Experimental Investigation on Single Model Pile in
Sloping Under Lateral Load. International journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, 3: (133-146).
3. Jasim M Abbas (2008). Single Pile Simulation and
Analysis Subjected to Lateral Load. Electronic Journal
of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol.13, pp. 1-15
4. Judi.A and Khadem Rabe (2009). Three Dimensional
Analysis of Soil Concrete Piles in Clayey Soils under
Lateral Loading. 2nd International Conference on New
Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering, Near East University, Nicosia, North
Cyprus
5. Karthigeyan, S., Ramakrishna, V.V.G.S.T., and
Rajagopal, K. (2006). Numerical Investigation of the
Effect of Vertical Load on the Lateral Response of Pile.
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, ASCE, Vol.133, No.5, pp.512-521.
6. Muthukkumaran, K. and Begum, N.A. (2011). Finite
Element analysis of laterally loaded Piles on Sloping.
Indian Geotechnical Journal, 41(3), 2011, 155-161.
7. Poulos, H.G. (1971) Behaviour of Laterally Loaded
Piles: I-Single Piles. J. Soil Mech. Found. Div., ASCE,
Vol. 97, No. SM 5, pp. 711-731.
8. Poulos, H.G. and Davis, E. H. (1980). Pile Foundation
Analysis and Design. John Wiley & Sons, New York..
N.Sugantha
PG Student, Div of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Anna University, Chennai,
suganthanarasimhan@yahoo.co.in
M.Muttharam
Associate Professor, Div of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Anna University, Chennai
muttharam@annauniv.edu
ABSTRACT: The clay near the coastal belt or near the river basins are very soft and characterized by poor strength
and high compressibility. In such cases, usually deep foundations are preferred. Sometimes cost considerations and
feasibility rule out deep foundation. Then shallow foundation is made viable by employing suitable ground improvement
techniques to enhance the engineering properties of the original soil. There are numerous techniques like lime
stabilization, preloading, band drains, thermal heating and freezing, electro-osmosis, stone column to improve the poor
characteristics of the soft clay. The present study focuses on improving the top soil for the foundation of Retaining wall
of bridge across the river Coleroon. The proposed bridge connects Muttam in Cuddalore district with Manalmedu in
Nagapatinam District in Tamil Nadu. The bridge falls under the jurisdiction of the Tamil Nadu Highways Department.
Although extensive research has been carried out on soft clay obtained from various places, as there is a specific need
to improve the top soft clay in the Coleroon basin the present study has been taken up.The main objective is to compare
the improvement to the index properties and strength when the soft clay from the Coleroon river basin is stabilized by
lime stabilisation. The present study is done by forming lime piles using lime slurry and tests are conducted on
samples extracted from the lime stabilized clay bed and the improvement to the properties are observed.
INTRODUCTION
The clay located in river beds or of marine origin in
general are characterized by poor strength and high
compressibility. The foundation of any structure found in
this soil pose problem of high settlement and low bearing
capacity. Hence it becomes essential to adopt suitable
ground improvement method to improve the engineering
characteristics of such soil.The designer should be
judicious in deciding the technique relevant to his
problem. In other words the ground improvement
technique is more site specific rather than general.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
TEST PROGRAMME
Materials
The clay sample obtained from the site was air dried and
pulverized to pass through 4.75mm sieve. Then the
required quantity of soil is prepared with water contents of
46% (Ic = 0.45) and 41.4% (Ic = 0.6) to prepare laboratory
model clay bed. In this work, it is proposed to conduct the
tests by varying the consistency, lime concentration and
the arrangement of the lime piles. In the first series of
experiments, the clay bed is prepared at 0.45 consistency
and in the second series at 0.6. Under the first series the
tests are varied for different concentration of lime that
constitute the lime slurry (33% and 50% by weight of
water) and the arrangement of lime piles [single pile
arrangement (SPA) and triangular pile arrangement
(TPA)]. The clay bed is thus stabilized by forming lime
piles using lime slurry and then the samples are extracted
and tested for index properties and strength.
Liquid limit in %
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
0
7 days
14 days
21 days
57
52
47
42
37
32
27
0
7 days
33% lime
50% lime
33% lime
50% lime
14 days
21 days
curing period
conc and 0.45 consistency
conc and 0.45 consistency
conc and 0.60 consistency
conc and 0.60 consistency
30
33
28
plastic limit in %
26
28
Plasticity
Index
24
22
20
18
23
18
16
14
13
12
10
0
7 days
14 days
21 days
7 days
33% lime
50% lime
33% lime
50% lime
21 days
consistency
consistency
consistency
consistency
29
27
25
23
21
19
17
15
0
7 days
14 days
curing period
21 days
14
shrinkage limit
plastic limit in %
14 days
curing period
12
10
8
0
7 days
14 days
21 days
curing period
33% lime conc and 0.45 consistency
50% lime conc and 0.45 consistency
33% lime conc and 0.60 consistency
50% lime conc and 0.60 consistency
35
30
17
shrinkage limit
Index
Plasticity
19
25
20
15
15
13
11
9
10
0
7 days
14 days
21 days
conc
conc
conc
conc
and 0.45
and 0.45
and 0.60
and 0.60
consistency
consistency
consistency
consistency
7 days
14 days
21 days
33% lime
50% lime
33% lime
50% lime
conc
conc
conc
conc
and 0.45
and 0.45
and 0.60
and 0.60
consistency
consistency
consistency
consistency
STRESS
kN/sq m
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
STRAIN
33% lime conc
and consistency 0.60
50% lime conc and consistency 0.60
0.06
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the experimental investigation carried out in the
laboratory the following conclusions are arrived .
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
REFERENCES
1.
Alex Wilkinson , Asadul Haque, Jayantha
Kodikara, John Adamson, David Christia (2010)
Improvement of Problematic Soils by Lime
slurry Pressure injection : Case Study, Journal of
Geotechnical
and
Geo
Environmental
Engineering 136 , pp 1459, 2010.
2.
Lambe , T.W. (1962) ,Soil Stabilisation , a
chapter in foundation Engineering., ( Ed. By G.A.
Leonards), McGraw Hill Book Co.
3.
Mitchell J.K. (1993) , Fundamental of Soil
Behaviour, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
4.
Rajasekaran, G., and
Narasimha Rao, S.,
(2002) , Compression behaviour of Lime treated
Marine clay. Ocean Engineering 29(2002) pp
545-559.
5.
Thyagaraj T and Sudhakar Rao, M., (2003),
Lime slurry stabilization of expansive soil,
Geotechnical Engineering GE3, pp 139-146.
5
0
0.00
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
STRAIN
33% lime conc and 0.6 consistency
50% lime conc and 0.60 consistency
6.
ABSTRACT: Expansive soils are inclined to harmful volumetric changes with changes in moisture content. The road
surfaces have been originated to crack badly, where the subgrade is liable to swelling, commonly leads to a poor pavement
performance. Stabilization technique condenses the swelling and increases the stability. Flyash, an industrial byproduct of
power production produced from burning coal is the most considered waste material. Disposal of large quantities of flyash,
causes a major biological problem. It is estimated that about 100 million tons of flyash is being produced from different
thermal power plants in India consuming several thousand hectares of precious land for its clearance causing severe health and
environmental hazards. Flyash in large quantities can be utilized in the construction of embankments and roads. Laboratory
model flexible pavements were set up by using 60cm diameter mild steel tank on expansive soil subgrade with the alternatives
viz; alternative-1 Flyash subbase and alternative-2 Lime stabilized flyash subbase. Cyclic load tests and heave measurements
were carried out for all the model flexible pavements laid on expansive soil sub grade. The study revealed that stabilized
combination could be a possible alternative.
INTRODUCTION
Flyash is a waste derivative from thermal power plants,
which use coal as fuel. It is estimated that more than 100
million tons of flyash is being produced from different
thermal power plants in India consuming several thousand
hectares of precious land for its clearance causing severe
health and environmental hazards (Singh and Murthy,
1998[1]) In spite of incessant efforts made and
encouragements offered by the government, like exemption
of custom duty and excise duty, hardly 5-10% of the
produced ash is being used for gainful purposes like brick
making, cement manufacture, soil stabilization and as fill
material (Envis News letter, 2006 [2]).
In order to utilize flyash in bulk quantities, ways and means
are being discoverd all over the world to use it for the
construction of embankments and roads (Singh et al., 1996
[3]) Vittal and Murthy, 1998 [4]), as flyash satisfies major
design requirements of strength and compressibility except
for its susceptibility to erosion and possible liquefaction
under extreme conditions (Vittal and Murthy, 1998 [4]).
However when it is used as subbase in flexible pavements, it
is completely confined and also the thickness of such layer is
relatively small, where by the above problems can be
eliminated. Flyash settles less than 1% during the
construction period and not afterwards (Smith, 2005 [5]). Its
low density makes it suitable for high embankments (Smith,
2005 [5]). Flyash has a tendency to react with lime to form
different lime bearing silicates/aluminates hydrates due to its
pozzolanic properties. These hydrates possess cementitious
properties and are responsible for the development of
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTATION
DISCUSSION ON TEST RESULTS
Construction of Model Flexible Pavements
Load Test Results
In this investigation two model flexible pavements are
prepared in the laboratory by using 60cm diameter mild steel
tank with different alternatives viz., Flyash, Lime Stabilized
Flyash, respectively. Soil is used as subgrade material for all
the tests. Above all the four alternative subbases, WBM-III
base course is laid uniformly. Sand bed of 1.0cm thickness is
placed before laying the subgrade in the tank. The soil
collected from Godilanka near Amalapuram is allowed to dry
and then pulverized with wooden rammers and sieved
through 4.75mm sieve. Sand drains are provided by means of
3 vertical sand columns of 4.0cm diameter from bottom to
top of the subgrade for saturation. Then it is compacted to
2.0cm thickness in 10 layers to a total thickness of 20cm to
its optimum moisture content and maximum dry density in
mild steel test tank. On the prepared subgrade, flyash mixed
with water at OMC is laid in two layers each of 2.5cm
compacted thickness to a total thickness of 5.0cm. The
subbase layer is compacted corresponding to MDD and
OMC. For the other subbase, flyash is treated with 8% lime
(obtained from laboratory CBR test results) is added and
compacted corresponding to maximum dry density at
optimum moisture content of flyash.. All these layers are
compacted to optimum moisture content and maximum dry
density. On the prepared subbase, two layers of WBM-III
each of 2.5cm compacted thickness are laid to a total
thickness of 5.0cm.
Cyclic Load Testing
These tests are carried out on model flexible pavements
systems in a circular steel tank of diameter 60cm. The
loading is done through a circular metal Plate of 10cm
diameter laid on the model pavement system. The steel tank
is placed on the pedestal of the compression testing machine.
A 50 KN capacity proving ring is connected to the loading
frame and the extension rod welded to the circular plate is
brought in contact with proving ring. Two dial gauges of
least count 0.01mm are placed on the metal flats welded to
the vertical rod to measure the vertical displacements of the
loading plate. The load is applied in increments
corresponding to tyre pressures of 500, 560, 630, 700 and
1000 kPa and so on and for each pressure increment is
applied, cyclically, until there is insignificant increase in the
settlement of the plate between successive cycles. The testing
is further continued till the occurrences of failure to record
the ultimate loads. For tests in saturated condition, the soil is
allowed to absorb water by providing a thin sand layer
(10mm thick) at the bottom and also through vertical sand
drains. Two inlet valves are welded on opposite sides of the
tank through which water is supplied. The dial gauge
readings are recorded until maximum heave is obtained and
during this process, proving ring is disconnected. Cyclic load
tests are also carriedout in saturated state exactly in the same
manner as for those at OMC. These tests are carriedout at
OMC and in saturated states for all the model flexible
pavements.
CONCLUSIONS
The load carrying capacity of the model flexible pavement
system is significantly increased for lime stabilized flyash
subbase model flexible pavement stretch with respect to the
flyash subbase stretch on Expansive soil subgrade. Maximum
reduction in heave values are attained for the lime stabilized
flyash subbase stretch compared to other stretche on
Expansive soil subgrade. Heaving of the soil considerably
decreased the load carrying capacity of flexible pavement
system.
REFERENCES
1. Singh, D.V and Murty, A.V.S.R., (1998). Flyash in
India-Problems and Possibilities, Proc. of Experience sharing
Meet on Use of Flyash in Roads and Embankments, CRRINew Delhi, 1-9.
and M
ABSTRACT: An experimental program was undertaken to study the engineering properties of sea sand reinforced with
synthetic fibres. Polyester fibre was chosen as the reinforcing material. Sea sand was mixed with 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 percent of
polyester fibres by dry weight. The compaction characteristics, shear parameters and permeability of synthetic fibre reinforced
sea sand have been determined from extensive laboratory testing. The shear parameters and permeability of fibre reinforced
sea sand have been determined by testing specimens prepared at respective optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum
dry density (MDD). The addition of polyester fibre resulted in decrease in maximum dry density values. Fibre reinforcement in
sand specimens resulted in substantial increase in the friction angle values up to 1.5 percent fibre content for both 6mm and
12mm length fibre in dry and saturated condition. Increase in permeability was observed with increase in fibre content and
aspect ratio. The soaked California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values of fibre reinforced sea sand increased up to 0.5 percent and
then decreased.
INTRODUCTION
With the advent of geosynthetics, the soil improvement by
reinforcing materials such as fibres, strips, bars, meshes and
fabrics has gained popularity in various civil engineering
constructions over the last three decades. Even in the earlier
days, natural materials such as roots of plants, straw, paper,
bamboo strips, wood etc. were used as reinforcement in soils.
The geotextile fabrics serve as reinforcement due to their
membrane action whereas geogrids serve as reinforcing
material due to their stiffness. The fibre reinforcement has
different interaction with soil compared to geotextiles and
geogrids. The fibre mixed soil is strengthened by frictional
resistance of fibre and stiffness of fibre if fibre has higher
aspect ratio. Inclusions of discrete short fibers placed
randomly or in definite layers impart additional resistance to
loads by way of cohesion and friction, but these are not
included in Vidals concept of reinforced earth [1]. Some of
the common types of synthetic fibre available commercially
are polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon. The
effect of randomly oriented fibre reinforcement of sands and
clays has been studied by researchers. But, studies on fibre
reinforced sea sand are not available.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Henri Vidal published his investigation on soil reinforcement
in 1968. Gray and Ohasi [2] and Ranjan et al. [3] conducted
experiments on fibre reinforced sand. The studies indicated
increase in shear strength. Maher and Ho [4] reported that the
increase in strength and toughness of Kaolinite was a
function of fibre length, fibre content and water content.
Ranjan [5] found that the soaked CBR value of sand
increased by 2.18 times its unreinforced value with addition
of 2 percent polypropylene fibres by weight. Ranjan et.al [6]
conducted a series of triaxial tests to study stress strain
behavior of soft clay samples with sand fibre core. This
reinforcement modified the stress - strain behavior and an
S. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Polyester Fibre
Synthetic Polyester fibres are used in the present
investigation. They are procured from Reliance Industries
limited, Hyderabad. Fibres of 6mm and 12mm length are
used in the investigation. The fibre characteristics are
presented in Table 2. The fibres have high tensile strength
and softening point. As the fibres base polymer is polyester,
they have better resistance to alkalis, good resistance to
Property
Cross- Section
Fiber Type
Fiber Length (mm)
Fiber Diameter (micron)
Color
Moisture Flat (%)
Tensile strength (M pa)
Youngs Modulus (M Pa)
Specific Gravity
Softening Point (0C)
Elongation (%)
Value
Triangular
Polyester
6 & 12
30-40
colorless
<1
750-1200
16000-20000
1.34 1.4
220
>100
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
The laboratory tests are carried out on sea sand reinforced
with fibre content of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by dry weight to
study compaction, strength and permeability characteristics.
The fibres are mixed in sea sand by hand till uniform mixing
is obtained. The compaction characteristics are determined
from IS heavy compaction tests (IS 2720: Part 8 -1983). The
strength characteristics are determined in terms of shear
parameters and C.B.R. values. The shear parameters are
determined from shear box tests as per IS 2720: Part 13-1986.
The permeability of fibre reinforced sea sand was determined
from constant head permeability tests (IS 2720: Part 361987). All the specimens for direct shear, permeability and
C.B.R tests were prepared at their respective OMC and MDD
values. The C.B.R test was conducted as per IS 2720 : Part 16
-1987 on specimens soaked for 96 hours.
Compaction Characteristics of Fibre Reinforced Sea Sand
IS Heavy compaction tests are carried out on unreinforced
and reinforced sea sand with varying fibre content to study
variation in Optimum moisture content and Maximum dry
density. The results of compaction tests conducted on fibre
reinforced sea sand are presented in Table 3. The fibres did
not show any significant effect on optimum moisture content
of fibre mixed sand. The results show that the MDD
decreases gradually with increase in fibre content.
Table 3 Compaction characteristics of fibre reinforced
sea sand.
Fibre
OMC
MDD
Fibre
Length
%
(g/cc)
(%)
(mm)
0
9
1.69
0.5
6
8.6
1.64
1
6
8.8
1.63
1.5
6
8.7
1.62
0.5
12
8.8
1.67
1
12
8.7
1.66
1.5
12
8.5
1.64
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of investigations on polyester fibre
reinforced sea sand presented in this study, the following
conclusions are made.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors thank Reliance Industries Limited, Hyderabad
for providing the required amount polyester fibre for carrying
out the present study.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
INTRODUCTION
A well connected road network is essential for the
development of agriculture, commerce and industry.
Expansive clay soils undergo heave and shrinkage due to
seasonal moisture changes. Roads constructed on expansive
clay sub-grades are adversely affected by the behaviour of the
clay. It is established that the major problems on account of
expansive sub-grades to the pavements are detrimental heave
and severe cracking (Snethen et al, 1979). Pavements may
crack due to uneven heave during wetting and shrinkage of
the sub-grade during drying.
Different methods are used to improve the geotechnical
properties of expansive soils, such as strength and the
stiffness, by treating them in situ. The methods that are
commonly employed to improve problematic soils include
densification such as compaction, preloading, pore water
pressure reduction techniques such as dewatering and electroosmosis, bonding of soil particles by ground freezing,
grouting, chemical stabilization and use of reinforcing
elements such as geotextiles and stone columns (Rao et. al.,
2008). Chemical stabilization (Holtz and Gibbs, 1956;
Prakash and Sridharan 1989; Rajasekharan et al., 1997) of
fine-grained and expansive soils has been proved to be
effective in many of the geotechnical engineering
applications such as pavement structures, building
foundations to avoid damage due to settlement or the
swelling of expansive soils. However, some of these
techniques suffer from a few limitations such as pulverization
and mixing problems in case of lime stabilization
(Holtz,1969; Ramana Murty,1998). In CNS technique,
developed by Katti (1979), about 1m of the expansive soil is
removed and replaced with a cohesive non-swelling soil
(CNS) layer beneath the foundations in order to prevent
heave and the subsequent cracking of canal beds and linings
5.
6.
7.
8.
Fig. 3 Variation of UCS with GGBS content in expansive soil
of GGBS - stabilized expansive soil
CONCLUSIONS
1. GGBS-stabilized expansive soil and lime+GGBSstabilized expansive soil cushions have shown a
significant improvement in the performance of expansive
soil.
2. Marginal increase in OMC and small decrease in MDD
was observed in both GGBS-stabilized expansive soil
and lime+GGBS-stabilized expansive soil mixes.
3. Significant improvement in soaked CBR was observed
both in the case of GGBS-stabilized expansive soil and
lime+GGBS-stabilized expansive soil when used as a
cushion over expansive soil. With increase in the cushion
thickness and also with the increase in GGBS content in
the cushioning material there is a marked increase in
soaked CBR.
4. The UCS increased with the increase in GGBS content.
At a GGBS content of 5%, the UCS was found to be
124.5 kN/m2 and upon increasing the GGBS content to
20%, the UCS has increased to 207.5 kN/m2. Marked
increase in UCS was observed in lime+GGBS-stabilized
expansive soil. At a GGBS content of 5% the UCS of
lime-GGBS-soil was found to be 194 kN/m2 and upon
increasing the GGBS content to 20%, the UCS has
increased to 306 kN/m2. Further curing of the sample for
28 days, for a GGBS content of 20%, the UCS has
increased to 427 kN/m2.
REFERENCES
1. Caijun, S and Day, R. L (1993). "Chemical Activation of
Blended Cements Made with Lime and Natural
Pozzolans", Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 23, pp.
1389-1396.
2. Gupta, S, and Seehra, S. S. (1989). "Studies on LimeGranulated Blast Furnace Slag as an Alternative Binder
to Cement", Highways Research Board, Bulletin, No. 38,
pp. 81-97.
3. Higgins, D. D, Kinuthia, J. M, and Wild, S. (1998). "
Soil Stabilization Using Lime-Activated GGBS",
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
INTRODUCTION
The major sources of subsurface and surface contamination
are land disposal of industrial, mining, agricultural wastes
and accidental spillage of chemicals during the series of
industrial operations. In recent years much attention has been
paid to acidification of soil due to acid rain, which is one of
the environmental factors which will affect properties of soil.
Soil pollutants interaction changes soil behavior and also can
lead to partial or total immobilization of contaminants.
Severe damage occurred to the interconnecting piping of a
phosphoric acid storage tank in particular and also to the
adjacent buildings due to differential movements between
pump and acid tank foundations of a fertilizer plant in
Calgory, was reported [1]. The effect of contamination with
six contaminants on the engineering behaviour of Shedi soil
was reported [2, 3]. The cohesion parameter for Shedi soil
has decreased from 186.39 KN/m2 at 0 N contamination by
phosphoric acid (H3PO4) to 147.15 KN/m2 at 10 N
contamination (decrease about 20 percent) and was attributed
to more satisfied electron imbalance and aggregation growth.
The angle of internal friction also increased with increase in
percentage of contamination was reported [4].
This paper presents results of laboratory investigations
conducted to study the effect of acids and alkalis on strength
properties of Shedi soil.
LATERITIC SOIL
Laterites are the ferruginous deposit of vesicular unstratified
structure, occurring not far below the surface and have long
been known in India where they occupy large areas of
SHEDI SOIL
The top layers of the laterite formations are highly porous but
hard and strong. In between the top hardened layer and
bottom residual or parent deposit, there lies the lithormargic
shedi soil having size distribution between JEDI (clay) and
GODI (silt) soils. The Lithormargic shedi horizon ranges in
thickness from few meters to about 20 meters. This shedi soil
is soft and occasionally consists of pieces of thin impersistant
bands of cherry and iron rich haematite material. They exhibit
variegated colors: cream, red, purple and yellow being most
common. Some of the important properties of shedi soil
studied in this investigation have been presented in Table 1
and 2.
MATERIALS USED
The Shedi soil used for the present study has been obtained
from shedi gudda from a depth of 2 meter below natural
ground level, Mangalore, Karnataka state, India. It was dried
and sieved through a sieve of 4.75 mm to eliminate gravel
fraction if any.
Color
Specific gravity
Values
observed
Light Pink
2.43
0.00
Properties
85.00
15.00
26.5
16.7
21.19
14.5
17.7
0.00
3.652X10-6
70.8 X10-3
1.69 X10-3
220.78
CaCO3
MgCO3
100.1
84.3
Color
White
White
Crystal
Symmetry
Rhombic
Trigonal
Refractive
Index nD
1.681
1.51
2.71g/cc
2T.05g/cc
Density
Melting Point
Solubility
in
100
parts
solvent
Assay
825 C
990C
0.013g/100ml
@
0.01g/100ml@
20C,soluble
in acids
85%
20C,soluble in
acids
95%
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
Strength properties were determined as per IS 2720 (part X)
1973.Various percentages of CaCO3 and MgCO3 additives are
mixed to Shedi soil individually and acidification is done with
one normal Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and Orthophosphoric acid
(H3PO4) for the optimum combination of Shedi soil and
Carbonates individually. Importance has been accorded to
qualitative magnitude of impact of contamination rather than to
study the mechanism due to which this happens in this study.
RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS
as SO4
as SO3
Percentage %
5.42
0.002
0.039
0.000
0.008
0.004
0.003
CONCLUSIONS
1. Unconfined Compressive Strength increases with increase
in percentage increase in MgCO3 upto 15% optimum at all
curing period. The maximum unconfined compressive
strength observed was 989.32 kPa. However, beyond
optimum percentage of alkalis, the strength decrease for the
further addition of alkali were marginal, due to decrease in
diffused double layer thickness.
2. Alkalis having lime content in different forms improves the
strength properties upto six months while acidification
destroys cohesion and the strength. The increase in strength
is attributed to flocculation due to soil and alkali interaction.
Strength decrease is attributed to deflocculation due to
interaction between Alkalis treated soils and Acids. Further
addition of acids resulted in formation of compounds such as
Calcium sulphate, Magnesium phosphate which destroys the
cohesion between the particle mixtures and hence decreases
the strength irrespective of addition of various percentages of
alkalis against various curing periods.
3. Acidification of optimum % of CaCO3 and MgCO3 treated
soils have shown drastic decrease in unconfined compressive
strength with 1N H2SO4 compared to marginal decrease in
strength with 1N H3PO4 at all curing period.
REFERENCES
1. Joshi R.C., Pan X and Lohita P. (1994), Volume changes
in calcareous soils due to Phosphoric acid contamination,
Proceedings of the XIII ICSMFE, New Delhi, Vol.4,
1569-1574.
2. Yaji,R.K and Ramkrishnegowda.C.(1995), Effect of
contamination by chemicals on the engineering behaviour
of shedi soil, Proceedings of IGC-1995, Bangalore,241244.
3. Yaji,R.K, Ramkrishnegowda. C and Sandeep Ranjan Jha.
(1996), Influence of contaminants on the engineering
behaviour of shedi soil, .Proceedings of IGC-1996,
Madras.
4. Yaji,R.K and Girish.K (2004), An Experimental study on
impact of chemical contamination on the engineering
behaviour of Shedi soil, M.Tech thesis, July 2004,
National Institute of Technology, Surakthal, Mangalore,
India
5. http:/www.Gaea.ca
ACKNOWLEDEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the support given by their parent
institutes Dr.Ambedkar Institute of Technology and University
Visweswaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore-560056.for
carrying out this research work successfully.
Coastaldeposit
5m
Embankment
Totalsounding
5
10
Depth[m]
INTRODUCTION
The use of lime-cement piles is one of the most applicable
stabilisation methods in soft and sensitive clays (CEN, 2000).
There are sites that stabilization components have the most
impact because lime reacts more with clay than sand, gravel,
silt or peat. The chemical reaction creates a hardening
process that creates a much higher strength than the original
soil. Curing process depends on ground material to be built
in, the choice of binder, binder amount, how well it blends in
and the temperature of the area. On one hand, lime-cement
stabilisation guarantees significant increase in the shear
strength of the stabilised material; on the other hand, the
stabilisation process itself is very critical. Great care needs to
be exercised while choosing mixing techniques, procedures
and ground conditions of the area to be stabilized.
20
Resistance (kN)
Peat
Sensitiveclay
Sand
Moraine
V Thakur/ Field observation on pore pressure measurement during Lime-cement stabilization of coastal clay deposit
GEOTECHNICAL SITE CHARACTERIZATION
The quaternary geological maps show marine deposition on
the area. The area was subjected to landslide in the past. The
intensive field investigation showed that the area was covered
with 1 m thick peat and organic top soil. Underneath, layered
sediment dominated by marine clay and silt in some depth
intervals until 10-12 m was found. The marine clay/silt
deposits are layered by three thin sand layers. Underneath is
the moraine layer until the depth of 20 m. Figure 2 shows a
sketch of layered coastal deposits underneath the road
embankment. Based on laboratory data, soils are
characterized by index parameters as shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Site characterization
Layer thickness [m]
0-1
Properties
Peat
3
Density, , [kN/m ]
Water content, w,
[%]
Undrained shear
strength, cu, [kPa]
Sensitivity, St, [-]
Clay fraction , [%]
Plasticity index, IP,
[%]
S1
19
66-97
S1
S2
5-70
7-115
5-25
8-12
0-5
-
S2
C
120m
Piezometers
150m
Piezometer
0.6m
0.6m
3m
0.6m
1.1m
3m
S3
S4
Roadlevel
0m
S4
1-12
Sensitive
Sand
clay
20
21.5
20-60
10-30
S3
Bridge
Embankment
5m
5m
Road
M1
10m
M4
M3
M2
Embankment
M5
M6
M7
15m
10m
Peat
Sensitiveclay
Sand
Moraine
15m
35m
Fig. 4 Longitudinal section (C-C). The locations of the piezometers (M1-M7) are also shown in this figure
INSTALLATION OF LIME-CEMENT COLUMNS
Based on the geotechnical investigation the lime-cement
stabilization was selected as the measure to improve the
overall stability of the area. As per the NPRA guidelines
(NPRA, 2010b), the factor of safety of the costal slope was
needed to improve from 1.0 to 1.6 under both undrained and
drained conditions. The 150 x 120 m area was stabilised to an
average 10-12 m depth. Dry mixing technique was used for
the stabilization process. Stabilization was done using 60 cm
diameter Lime-cement piles installed in the single and double
ribs systems. The 25 to 31 kg lime-cement binders, in 50-50
ratio, were used to stabilize per cubic meter of soil mass.
Figure 3 and 4 shows location and the pattern of lime-cement
V Thakur/ Field observation on pore pressure measurement during Lime-cement stabilization of coastal clay deposit
PORE PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS
An air pressure of 3-4 bars is commonly used in the dry
mixing process which builds extremely high pore pressure.
The pore pressure increase at constant total stress will also
increase the stress condition in the soil mass towards the
failure state. In other words, stability of already marginally
stable slopes can be at risk if the pore pressure is increased to
a very high level for a longer period. Therefore, it becomes
important to monitor pore pressure generation and dissipation
during the stabilization period. Figure 4 and Table 3 shows
the details about the locations of the piezometers. The
piezometers were placed between the Lime-cement ribs. The
ribs were placed at 3 m c/c spacing. The distances between
nearest rib and piezometer were 1.2 m in case of single rib
systems in zone S1 and S2, and only 0.9 m in case of double
rib systems in zone S3 and S4.
Table 3 Piezometers location
Zones Piezometers
Depth
Distance between
locations
[m]
piezometers* [m]
S1
M1
6
0
S2
M2
10
15
S3
M3
8.5
25
S3
M4
5
35
S4
M5
4
70
S4
M6
5
70
S4
M7
7
70
* Piezometer M1 is selected as the reference point
0
Ground water level
1
2
3
Depth [m]
4
5
6
7
8
9
Measured
Hydrostatic line
10
11
0
20
40
60
80 100
Intial pore pressure [u o ] (kPa)
S4
S3
S1
S2
vo
vo
vo
vo
vo
vo
u-uo
u-uo
u-uo
vo
u-uo
u-uo
u-uo
u-uo
Start
V Thakur/ Field observation on pore pressure measurement during Lime-cement stabilization of coastal clay deposit
INTRODUCTION
Construction of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls results in
potential savings over conventional retaining walls. However,
the proper selection of a backfill material is of primary
concern in ensuring the stability of these wall sections. Well
graded, freely draining granular material is generally
recommended for reinforced soil wall construction. The
unavailability of good quality backfill material has recently
led to the use of low permeability backfill soils. The Federal
Highway Administration [1] allows up to 35% of fines
(passing 0.0475 mm) in the reinforced fill material, provided
the properties of the materials are well-defined, and proper
controls are established to address various design issues. But
the use of low permeability backfill material results in some
difficulties like development of pore water pressures,
reduction in shear strength at interface of soil and
reinforcement and excessive deformations. The destabilizing
seepage force due to the development of pore pressure
beneath, behind or within the reinforced zone often leads to
the instability of the wall. The use of low permeable backfill
was reported as the cause of many serviceability problems
and actual failures of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls by
Mitchell and Zornberg (1995) [2], Koerner and Soong (2005)
[3], and Christopher and Stuglis (2005) [4]. The use of
permeable inclusions as an effective alternative to relieve the
pore pressure buildup was discussed by Mitchell and
Zornberg (1995) [2], Christopher et al. (1998) [5],
Viswanadham and Raisinghani (2010) [6], and Koerner and
Soong (2005) [3]. Geocomposites that combine drainage and
reinforcement properties or thin layers of sandy soil were
18
20
Angle
of
friction
( )
15
Co-efficient
of
permeability
(m/sec)
1.58 x10
-7
The seepage analysis was carried out for the three different
cases given below:
Case-1 With marginal backfill alone
Case-2 With marginal backfill along with layers of sand,
0.2m thick
Case-3 With marginal backfill along with layers of
geocomposites
The number of sand and geocomposite layers were varied
from n 1 to7, and the corresponding sections were analysed to
obtain phreatic surfaces at the onset of seepage. These
drainage layers were placed from the bottom, midway
between polymeric strip reinforcement layers, and were
considered to be 1m longer than the length of the
reinforcement layers. The coefficient of permeability of sand
used in the present study is 6.65 x 10-5 m/s. It has a friction
angle of 37 for the sand placed at 70% relative density and a
unit weight of 20 kN/m3. The properties of the geocomposite
layers used were adopted from Raisinghani and
Viswanadham (2011) [11] and are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Properties of geocomposite
Normal
Tangential
Co-efficient of
Co-efficient of
permeability
permeability
(m/sec)
(m/sec)
12.59 x10-5
7.975x10-4
Tensile
Load
(kN/m)
55.35
Bond
skin
friction
(kPa)
12.49
Some studies on the seepage analysis of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls constructed with low-permeability backfill soils
Modelling using SLOPE/W
Static global factor of safety for the three cases mentioned
above were calculated using modified Bishops method of
slices. The slip circle was restricted within the reinforced
zone. The material model chosen was Mohr-Coulomb, and
tensile load was applied evenly along the reinforcement. The
bond resistance for the polymeric strips were calculated using
a contact cohesion of 0 kPa and a contact friction angle of
10. The reinforcement function of the geocomposites was
considered while performing stability analysis along with
their in-plane drainage capability.
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
Seepage analysis
Figures 2a-2c illustrate the typical results of seepage analysis
for: i) Case-1 ii) Case-2, n =2 ii) Case-3, n =2. As can be
noted from the figures, the phreatic surface got lowered with
the provision of drainage layers and was more pronounced
with provision of geocomposite layers. The normalized pore
water pressures u/h (which is defined as a ratio of pore water
pressure at half reinforcement length from toe of the wall to
the product of unit weight of the soil and height of the wall)
was calculated at the wall base, mid-way of the reinforced
zone to assess the reduction in pore water pressure with
increase in number of sand and geocomposite layers.
Stability analysis
The phreatic surfaces obtained from SEEP/W analyses were
used while performing stability analysis. Figure 4 represents
the critical slip circle and the factor of safety values for Case3 with five numbers of geocomposite layers. Table 5
summarises the value of factor of safeties of different cases
analysed. The value of factor of safety obtained for Case-3
with five numbers of geocomposite layers was found to be
38% more than the wall section with marginal fill alone. In
1.63
1.67
1.8
1.68
1.93
1.71
2.06
1.72
2.16
1.72
2.19
1.64
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the analysis and interpretation of seepage and
stability analysis of wall section with and without either
geocomposite or sand drainage layers, the following
conclusions can be drawn:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
fills
and
REFERENCES
FHWA-NHI-10-024(2009). Design and construction of
mechanically stabilized earth walls and reinforced soil
slopes,Vol 1, 94-101.
2. Mitchell, J.K and Zornberg, J.G. 1995. Reinforced soil
structures with poorly draining backfills. Part II:Case
Histories and Applications. Geosynthetics International,
2(1), 265-307.
3. Koerner, R. M., Soong, T.-Y., and Koerner, G. R. 2005.
Back drainage design and geocomposite drainage
materials. Proc., GRI-19 Conference, Las Vegas, GII
Publication, Folsom, PA, 51-86.
4. Christopher, B.R., Stuglis, R.S. 2005. Low permeable
backfill soils in geosynthetic reinforced soil wall: State
of the practice in North America: state of the practice in
North America. Proceedings of North American Geosynthetics Conference (NAGS 2005), Las Vegas,
Nevada, USA, GRI-19, 1416.
5. Christopher, B.R., Zornberg, J.G., and Mitchell, J.K.
1998. Design Guidance for Reinforced Soil Structures
with Marginal Soil Backfills. Proceedings of the Sixth
International Conference on Geosynthetics, Atlanta,
Georgia, Vol. 2, 797-804.
6. Viswanadham, B. V. S., and Raisinghani D. V., 2010.
Centrifuge model studies on the behavior of
Geocomposite reinforced soil slopes. Proceedings of the
7th International conference on Physical Modeling in
Geotechnics, S. Springman, J. Laue, and L. Seward
(Eds.), Taylor and Francis group (Pubs.), 2, 1157-1162
7. Chen, H-T, Hung, W-Y, Chang, C-C, Chen, Y-J, Lee, CJ. 2007. Centrifuge modeling test of a geotextilereinforced wall with a very wet clayey backfill.
Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 25(6), 346359.
8. OKelly, B.C, and Naughton, P.J. 2008. Technical note
on the interface shear resistance of a novel geogrid with
in-plane
drainage
capability.
Geotextiles
and
Geomembranes, 26(4), 357-362.
9. Yoo, C.A, Jung, H.Y. 2006. Case History of
Geosynthetic Reinforced Segmental Retaining Wall
Failure. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, ASCE, 132(12), 1538-1550
10. Geo-Slope 2007. SLOPE/W and SEEP/W Ver. 7.15
Users Guide. Geo-Slope International Ltd, Calgary,
Canada.
11. Raisinghani, D.V., and Viswanadham, B.V.S. 2011.
Centrifuge model study on low permeable slope
reinforced by hybrid geosynthetics. Geotextiles and
Geomembranes, 29(6), 567-580.
1.
ABSTRACT: In the recent past, the use of shoring systems for retaining excavations is on the rise in urban areas. There are
different types of shoring systems, like i) sheet pile walls, ii) Secant and contiguous piled walls, iii) jet grout and deep mixed
walls, iv) soil-nailed shoring system, etc. Out of these, soil-nailed shoring systems were found to be economical and rapid in
construction. In soil-nailed shoring system, soil nails are installed in rows by using top-down approach across the face of an
excavation and are typically covered with reinforcement and shotcrete. The number of soil nails per row, as well as the row
spacing in both horizontal and vertical directions, is largely dependent on earth conditions and design loads. In this paper, the
deformation behaviour of shoring system with and without soil nails was evaluated by simulating the incremental excavation
stages numerically. An attempt has been made to bring-out the efficacy of soil-nailed shoring system in retaining the soil was
presented in terms of face deformations, soil-nail forces and strain contours during different stages of excavation.
INTRODUCTION
Increase in construction practice in congested urban
environment has brought in new construction challenges to
civil engineers. Vertical excavations for deep foundations
have thus become a common practice in densely populated
localities. Many underground infrastructures are being built
very close to existing buildings in urban areas. To support
such deep excavations and protect nearby buildings,
appropriate shoring systems or earth retention systems are
very much essential. There are different types of shoring
systems, like i) sheet pile walls, ii) secant and contiguous
piled walls, iii) jet grout and deep mixed walls, iv) soil-nailed
shoring system, etc. Out of these, soil-nailed shoring systems
are quite preferable as they are economical and facilitate
rapid top-down construction.
In recent years, soil nailing system has been widely used as a
method of reinforcement for stabilizing steep slopes. The
knowledge on the use of nails in shoring systems is still very
limited. Numerical studies using 2D finite element model
have been carried out by Shen et al (1981) [1], Song and
Chen (1996) [2], and Zhang and Song (1997) [3] for
analyzing the overall behaviour of nailed soil structures.
Zhang et al. (1998) [4] used a limit equilibrium approach to
design and study a nailed structure. Smith and Su (1997) [5]
used a 3D finite element model to model all three
components of a nailed soil structure, namely, soil, nails and
facings. The 3D model was found to effectively simulate the
soil-structure interaction as compared to the earlier 2D
models. Fan and Luo (2008) [6] used a non-linear FEM
approach to study the effect of nail orientation and geometric
layout on the overall stability of soilnailed slopes.
For the proper design of a nailed soil-structure, the allowable
deformation level should be taken into account, especially
when buildings and other underground facilities exist near the
excavation. In the field, often ground movements have been
(1)
compare the stresses with and without nails. The mesh was
generated with 23,256 nodes and 18,750 elements, with a
global element size of 0.2m. 3D 8-node continuum linear
brick elements were used to model the soil, the nail and nail
head. The soil was modelled as a homogeneous, isotropic
material obeying the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. Further,
an elastic perfectly plastic stress-strain behaviour was
assumed for the soil. The steel nails were modelled as
homogeneous, isotropic, and perfectly elastic material. The
horizontal and vertical spacing between the nails was kept as
1m. The nails were taken to be 5 m in length and 0.2 m x 0.2
m in cross section. The nail heads were kept as 0.6 m x 0.6 m
x 0.04 m. Due to symmetry, the analysis was carried out with
a 15m x 10 m x 1 m section with 5 m x 5 m excavated zone.
Numerically, the excavation of the soil was simulated by
removing the soil elements in the zone to be excavated. The
excavation was carried out in five stages. For studying the
behaviour of the soil-nailed system, 1m of the soil was
excavated, and a 0.2 m x 0.2 m hole was dug, and nails were
inserted at mid-depth of excavation horizontally. The face
deformations and the stress in soil nails were recorded in
every stage of excavation.
Nail head
77.5
Cohesion
(kPa)
13.2
35
Angle of
internal friction
( )
Modulus of
elasticity (Pa)
8 x 106
5.3 x 109
5.3 x 109
Poissons ratio
0.3
0.3
0.3
shape
without
soil
nails
(2)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Faheem, H., Cai, F. and Ugai, K. (2004), Threedimensional base stability of rectangular excavations
in soft soils using FEM, Computers and
Geotechnics, 31(2), 6774.
Stage 1
Without nails
0.15
With Nails
0.1
Stage 2
0.225
0.15
Stage 3
0.3
0.18
Stage 4
0.35
0.21
Stage 5
0.49
0.24
CONCLUSIONS
ABSTRACT:
The fuel handling system in a coal/lignite fired thermal power plant consists of the structures/equipments for receipt, storage,
preparation and transport to the steam generator for combustion to generate high pressure and temperature steam which will
drive the steam turbine for power production. The fuel handling system typically includes fuel receipt and unloading system,
stock pile, conveyors, conveyor galleries and trestles, junction towers, crusher house, stacker reclaimers etc and is one of the
critical systems for plant operation. This paper presents the challenges in the design of foundation system for lignite handling
conveyor system in a power plant where large variation in sub soil/ rock stratification was observed. Geotechnical
investigations revealed presence of expansive black cotton soil underlain by weathered/ fractured rhyolitic rock. It was found
that the encountered rhyolitic rock highly varied in the lignite handling system area from around 2-21m. In view of such wide
variation in availability of hard strata, it became imperative to optimize the foundation design by selectively adopting pile
foundation. Also huge variations in sub soil profile were also noted within the crusher house foundation area which required
analysis of various soil and rock strata permutations to arrive at the final design.
INTRODUCTION
The fuel handling system typically includes fuel receipt and
unloading system, stock pile, conveyors, conveyor galleries
and trestles, junction towers, crusher house, stacker
reclaimers etc and is one of the critical systems for plant
operation. Typically the fuel handling systems performs the
functions as explained for coal handling system. The coal
handling system facilitates coal receipt, unloading of coal,
storage, crushing and screening of coal to the required size,
transfer of coal to coal bunker in boiler area through
conveyors. Junction towers were provided wherever change
in direction of conveyors is encountered. The coal stored in
coal bunker in boiler area is fed to pulverizers and the
powdered coal along with conveying air is fed to the boiler
for combustion.
Generally crusher house has dynamic loadings and may be
designed as dynamic foundations or can be supported by
vibration isolation system and be designed as static
foundations. The structures like crusher house, conveyor
trestles, stacker reclaimers, junction towers, screen house are
considered as major structures for foundation design, whereas
stock pile, junction towers, conveyor galleries and other
auxiliary structures may be considered of minor importance.
Shallow foundations are generally preferred if a good bearing
stratum exists at shallow depths capable of withstanding
anticipated loads. Whereas Pile foundations are adopted
when competent stratum exists at greater depths. If weathered
rock/ hard rock exist at deeper depths overlain by weaker
strata, then the piles are designed as end bearing piles.
Sushma B.V.
FOUNDATION SYSTEM FOR FUEL HANDLING STRUCTURES OF A THERMAL POWER PLANT IN VARIED GROUND CONDITIONS
Sushma B.V.
2.
3.
ABSTRACT: The use of waste materials in rural and urban roads has been in practice all over the world for quite some time
and is particularly necessitated because of the dumping problems associated with it. Copper slag is one of the waste materials
being used extensively in civil engineering construction. In India, copper producing units leave every day thousands of tonnes
of copper slag as byproduct. Granulated copper slag is more porous and, therefore, has particle size equal to that of medium
sand. Also, due to the scarcity of sand, copper slag along with binding material can be used for the improvement of sub-grades
and sub-bases. The present paper discusses the laboratory test results of standard compaction tests and CBR (California
Bearing Ratio) tests conducted on copper slag mixed with lime. The results showed that the compaction behavior of copper
slag is similar to that of granular soil and the maximum dry densities vary from 23.5 kN/m3 to 26 kN/m3 on addition of lime
from 0% to 10%. The soaked CBR values have been observed to increase by 2.0 to 2.5 times as the % lime increases from 0 to
10% .
INTRODUCTION
Copper is one of the basic chemical elements which is soft
and ductile. Pure copper is rarely found in nature, but is
usually combined with other chemicals in the form of copper
ores. The process of extracting copper from copper ore varies
according to the type of ore and the desired purity of the final
product. Once the waste materials have been physically
removed from the ore, the remaining copper concentrate must
undergo several chemical reactions to remove the iron and
sulphur. This process is called smelting. The recovery of
sulphuric acid from the copper smelting process not only
provides a profitable byproduct, but it also significantly
reduces the air pollution caused by the furnace exhaust.
Copper slag (CS) is a waste product which comes out from
the smelting process.
It has been estimated that the production of one tonne of
blister copper generates 2.2 tonnes of slag. Metal industry
slag, mine stone and mining waste are generally suitable for
recycling or reuse and the use of these inorganic wastes as
alternative materials in building, road and geotechnical
applications have been reported [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Copper slag, upon mixing with soil, can be used as an
effective stabilizing agent for the improvement of
problematic soils for use in highway embankments, subgrades and sub-bases. Also, by mixing it with fly ash, it
becomes suitable for embankment fill material. Slag, when
mixed with fly ash and lime, develops pozzolanic reactions
[7]. Fly ash has been widely accepted as embankment and
structural fill material [8, 9].
Copper slag along with binding material or an admixture can
be used as an alternative material to that of sand in road
construction. If the copper slag is mixed with calcium-based
Value
75
35
40
180
0
30
70
14.0
15
0.97
Copper Slag
Copper slag was procured from Sterilite Industries, Tuticorin,
Tamil Nadu. The physical and chemical properties are
presented in Tables 2 and 3 respectively.
Tests Conducted
Standard compaction test was performed (11) for the copper
slag mixed with lime of 0%, 4% and 10%. Copper slag and
lime are mixed in dry condition and then water is added in
various percentages.
California Bearing Ratio test was performed for the copper
slag mixed with lime, which is laid on the expansive soil as a
cushion, in soaked condition (12). Before the sample was
kept for soaking the copper slag was mixed with lime at its
optimum moisture content and was cured for 7days. In the
present experimental study, CBR samples were prepared for
thickness ratio of the stabilized copper slag cushion (tc) to the
expansive soil bed (ts) 1:1. Both the soil bed and lime-mixed
copper slag were compacted at their respective OMC values.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Compaction Results
Standard compaction and CBR tests were conducted on the
copper slag samples mixed with lime in proportions of 0%,
4% and 10%. The results of the compaction test are presented
in Figs. 1 and 2.
CONCLUSIONS
Copper slag availability is plenty and its utilisation can be of
advantage especially in road projects. From the results, it was
noticed that there is a marked improvement in the CBR
values of lime- mixed copper slag and it was noticed that it
was twice the value when 4% lime was added to copper slag
compared to copper slag alone. The compaction behaviour of
the copper slag is similar to that of a granular soil on lime
addition to the slag, imparting increase in dry density. As an
extension of the present work, it is planned to conduct testing
with varied lime content and varied cushion thickness
towards utilisation of copper slag in the road projects.
REFERENCES
1. Hartlen, J., Carling, M & Nagasaka, Y. (1997) Recycling
or reuse of waste materials in geotechnical applications,
Proceedings of the second International Congress on
Environmental Geotechnics, Osaka, Japan, pp 14931513.
2. Kamon, M. (1997) Geotechnical utilization of industrial
wastes, Proceedings of the second International
Congress on Environmental Geotechnics, Osaka, Japan,
pp 1293-1309.
3. Kamon, M. & Katsumi, T. (1994) Civil Engineering use
of industrial waste in Japan, Proceedings of the
International Symposium on Developments in
Geotechnical Engineering, Bangkok, Thailand, pp 265278.
4. Sarsby, R. (2000) Environmental Geotechnics, Thomas
Telford Ltd., London, UK.
5. Vazquez, E., Roca, A., Lopez-soler, A., FernandezTuriel, J.L., Querol, X & Felipo, M.T. (1991) PhysicoChemical and mineralogy characterization of mining
wastes used in construction, Waste materials in
construction, Proceedings of the International
Conference on Environmental Implications of
Construction with Waste Materials, Maastricht, The
Netherlands, pp 215-223.
6. Comans, R.N.J., van det Sloot, H.A., Hoede, D.
&Bonouvrie, P.A. (1991) Chemical Processes at a
redox/pH interface arising from the use of steel slag in
the aquatic environment, Waste materials in
construction, Proceedings of the International
Conference on Environmental Implications of
Construction with Waste Materials, Maastricht, The
Netherlands, pp 243-254.
7. Chu, S.C. and Kao, H.S. (1993) A study of Engineering
Properties of a clay modified by Fly ash and Slag,
Proceedings, Fly ash for Soil Improvement, American
Society of Civil Engineers, Geotechnical Special
Publication, No. 36, pp 89 99.
8. Mclaren, R.J. and A.M.Digionia, (1987) The typical
engineering properties of fly ash, Proceedings of
Conference on Geotechnical Practice for Waste
Disposal, Geotechnical Special Publication NO 13,
ASCE, R.D.Woods (ed.), pp 683-697.
9.
ABSTRACT: Expansive soils undergo drastic volume change based on the amount of moisture content. Expansive soil swells
during rainy seasons as they absorb water and shrink when water evaporates from them. Because of this extreme volume
change it causes distress to many civil engineering structures. Several mitigating techniques are adopted to counteract the
problems posed by the expansive soils either by modifying the properties of the soil by lime, cement, fly ash, calcium chloride
or by adopting special foundation technique. In recent years geosynthetic fibers have been used to stabilize the soil to improve
the strength and permeability behaviour of soils. Laboratory investigations have been carried out to study the heave behaviour
of expansive soils reinforced with nylon fiber and lime addition. Different combinations of expansive clays specimens were
prepared with 0.75% of nylon fibers and lime content was varied as 1%, 2% and 3%. All the specimens were compacted at a
dry density of 15kN/m3 and water content w = 20%. Surface heave of all the expansive clay specimens were monitored
continuously until equilibrium heave was achieved. It was observed that heave reduces considerably with the Lime content was
2% The reduction in heave is due to both reinforcing effect as well as due to increase in the shear strength , which resist the
swelling nature of the soil.
INTRODUCTION
Expansive soils are highly problematic as they have a
tendency to increase in volume on absorption of water and
shrink on evaporation of water. On absorption of water the
density of these soils increases and they become slushy due
to increase in density and becomes hard on evaporation of
water due to increase in density[1]. The volumetric change in
these soils is attributed to seasonal variations in the ground
water profile resulting in changes in the moisture content [2].
During summer, polygonal shrinkage cracks appear near the
surface, extending to a depth of about 2m, indicating a high
potential for expansion and contraction [1].The depth of
cracking indicates the depth of active zone in which
significant volume changes occur, which is defined as the
thickness of the soil in which moisture deficiency exists.
In Indian expansive soils, the depth of active zone is confined
only to the top 1.0 to 1.2m, and that there will not be much
change in dry density corresponding to changes in moisture
content.
Several mitigating techniques are available to counteract the
problems posed by the expansive soils. These are done either
by mechanical stabilization, chemical stabilization or by
adopting special foundation techniques. Mechanical
stabilization includes excavating the expansive soil and
replacing with non-expansive material. Sand cushion method
and cohesive non- swelling (CNS) layer method are very
popular. Chemical stabilization is done using lime, cement,
fly ash and salts [2] or by adopting special foundation
techniques lime under-reamed piles, belled piers and granular
pile anchors. In recent years geosynthetic fibre has been used
Shear box test were also performed for all the specimens at
the same density as adopted in the heave test to determine the
variation of shear strength with increase in the lime content.
The normal stress was varied as 50kPa, 100kPa, 150kPa and
200kPa.
Table 1 Properties of soil
Soil properties
Specific gravity
Grain size distribution
Sand %
Silt %
Clay %
Consistency limits
Liquid limit %
Plastic limit %
Shrinkage limit %
Free swell index
USCS Classification
102
20
12
200
CH
Heave (mm)
Heave in mm
8
7
6
5
4
3
50
100
150
Normal stress (kPa)
200
250
14
44
42
2
Lime content in %
100
10
Linear (L=3%)
150
50
Value
2.73
L=2%
L=3%
CONCLUSIONS
Heave reduces to a greatest extent when the fiber content was
0.75% and with a lime content of 2% and was very minimal
with further addition of lime. It is observed nearly 50% of
heave reduced at this combination. The reduction in heave is
mainly due to following reasons:
i) due to the increase in the fiber content which replaces the
expansive soil.
ii)due to the reinforcing affect which binds the soil together
and does not allow to swell and
iii) due the increase in the shear strength of the soil because
of the reaction between the lime and the soil.
It is concluded that the maximum reduction in heave can be
achieved with a fiber content of 0.75% and lime content of
2%.
REFERENCES
1. Chen, F.H. (1988), Foundations on expansive soils, 2nd Ed.,
Elsevier Scientific
Netherlands.
2.
Publishing
Co.,
Amsterdam,
The
ABSTRACT: Geocell-reinforcement in ground improvement is being used very extensively in present days. It is a three
dimensional honeycombed confinement system, made of geosynthetics, which significantly improves the bearing capacity of
soft soils, specially, in foundations, and pavements applications. Apart from improving the soil strength, it has also been
extensively used in various slope stabilization, embankment construction and railway track applications. Various parameters
are needed to be considered and designed for the application of geocell systems, like: geometrical parameters of geocell, its
location and infill soil characteristics. In this paper brief review on the research and developments on geocell-reinforced
foundation bed has been presented based on experiments carried out to find out the effect of various parameters.
INTRODUCTION
Soil strengthening using reinforcement is not a new science
but has long history. In modern civilization systematic soilreinforcement was first adopted by French architect and
engineer Henri Vidal. The systematic research has started
with Binquet and Lee in 1975 [1] through their pioneer
research with planar aluminum strips. In earlier days, mostly
metal reinforcement in planar form were used which are
costly and corrosive. But the invention of polymeric
geosynthetics has come as revolution in soil reinforcement.
The latest trend in geosynthetic-reinforcement is Geocell.
Although the detail parametric effect has yet to be fully
exploited but several influencing parameters have been
investigated. In this paper, parametric influences on the
performance of geocell-reinforcement in foundation are
briefly presented.
MECHANISM OF GEOCELL REINFORCEMENT
Geocell reinforcement is a three dimensional honeycombed
interconnected structure made of geotextiles or geogrids. Its
pockets provide all round confinement to the in-filled soil
(Fig. 1). It also develops interlocking with surrounding soil
through its apertures and develops strong anchorage which
improves the load bearing capacity (Fig. 1). Soil in-filled
geocell mattress behave like a semi-rigid slab which
redistribute the footing load over wider area onto the
underlying soil leading to reduced stress and settlement.
FIELD APPLICATIONS
Most of the field applications of geocell were aimed to make
stable the soft subgrade, embankment, slopes etc. It has been
started much before than systematic laboratory model study
by Webster and Watkins [2] who has begun this journey of
commercialization of geocells to present days through their
revolutionary work with sand filled, vertical, interconnected,
shallow and thin-walled aluminum cells placed over soft
subgrade and tested with full scale traffic loading. Johnson
[3] has used geocell mattress in the construction of the Great
In-filled Soil
All-round
Confinement
Geocell
Anchorage
Footing
u
Hh
Geocell Mattress
Soil-1
Soil-2
Parameters
Formation Pattern
Rib Orientation
Geogrid Opening (da/D50)
Stiffness of Geogrid
Pocket size (d)
Width (b)
Height of geocell (h)
Depth of placement (u)
ID of in-filled sand (%)
Values (Range)
Chevron
Horizontal & Vertical
80
As high as possible
0.8 - < 1D (B)
4 6D (B)
1.5 < 2D (B)
0.1 < 0.33D (B)
As high as possible
ABSTRACT: Unpaved roads are built with only single layer of base course of aggregate over locally available subgrade soils.
The stiffness and the load carrying capacity of the soil can be improved through increasing the frictional interaction between
the soil and geosynthethics. Coir geotextiles are best suited for low cost applications because of its high availability at low cost
compared to its synthetic counterparts. Model studies were conducted to investigate the beneficial use of Coir geotextiles as
reinforcing material on weak lateritic soil with wet mix macadam (WMM) representing unpaved roads on poor subgrade. The
coir geotextiles are kept at different levels in the model sections for studying the effect of position of geotextiles in upgrading
the bearing capacity of soil. The results are encouraging for use in developing countries (like India) where rural roads that are
yet to be developed to connect many villages as most of these roads are to be constructed on weak subgrade.
INTRODUCTION
The rural roads in India form a substantial portion of the
Indian road network. These roads are in poor shape, affecting
the rural population's quality of life. One of the major
problems faced by these rural roads are most of the unpaved
roads are built in weak subgrade. Geosynthetic reinforced
unpaved roads are easier and quicker solutions compared to
traditional alternatives which are solutions detrimental to the
environment.
In developing countries like India, cost and availability of
geosynthetics are the major constraining factors for the
construction of reinforced soil structures. High cost of
geosynthetics and stringent environmental protection
requirement make it important to explore alternative natural
products to make the constructions cost efficient and ecofriendly [17, 15, 6]. Natural geotextiles like coir and jute are
gaining importance because of their Eco friendliness and low
cost with reasonable durability. An unpaved road on soft
subgrade gets stabilized by soil consolidation due to passage
of vehicles, till the time, natural geotextiles supports it. [7].
The degradation of coir is found to retain 80% of its tensile
strength after 6 months of embedment in clay [14].
The benefits of using reinforcements in flexible pavements
depend largely on the quality and thickness of the granular
base and location of the geosynthetics within the pavement
structure along with other factors such as mechanical
properties of reinforcement material [13], subgrade strength,
nature of interaction between soil and geosynthetics and
magnitude of applied load [5]. The placement position of
reinforcement is the main factor affecting the bearing
capacity of reinforced granular soil and higher bearing
capacity has been observed when the depth of placement of
reinforcement is decreased [16]. The optimal position was
reported to lie at the base of the fill with a very soft subgrade
and a fill thickness less than 0.4 m [5]. It is reported that
increased bearing capacity is observed when woven and nonwoven coir geotextiles were used at the interface of silty clay
subgrade and granular base course of 150 mm thickness. It
has been found that the membrane effect of reinforcement
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
REFERENCES
1. Ajitha, B., Jayadeep, T. (1997), Interfacial frictional
properties of geotextiles and biomats, in: Proceedings of
Indian Geotechnical Conference, Vadodara, India, Vol.
1, pp. 287290.
2. ASTM D4595-86 (2001), Standard Test Method for
Tensile Properties of Geotextiles by the Wide-Width
Strip Method
3. ASTM D5261, Standard Test Method for Measuring
Mass per Unit Area of Geotextiles
4. Babu, K. K., Beena, K. S. and Raji, A.K.(2008), Design
of Coir Geotextile reinforced Roads using IRC method.
Highway Research Journal, Special Issue.
5. Cancelli, A. and Montanelli, F. (1999), In-ground test for
geosynthetic reinforced flexible paved roads.
Proceedings of Geosynthetics 99, Vol. 2, Boston, USA,
pp. 863879.
6. Chauhan, M.S., Mittal, S. and Mohanty, B. (2008),
Performance evaluation of silty sand subgrade reinforced
with fly ash and fibre. Geotextiles and Geomembranes
26 (5), 429435.
7. Fannin. R.J. and Sigurdsson, O. (1996), Field
observations on stabilization of unpaved roads with
geotextiles. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE.
26(7): 544-553.
8. IRC: 109 (1997), Guidelines for Wet Mix Macadam
9. IS: 2720(Part 16)-1979, Methods of Test for Soils:
Determination of California Bearing Ratio.
10. IS: 2720(Part 4)-1985, Methods of Test for Soils: Grain
Size Analysis.
11. IS: 2720(Part 5)-1985, Methods of Test for Soils:
Determination of Atterberg Limits.
12. IS: 2720(Part 8)-1983, Methods of Test for Soils:
Determination of Water Content-Dry Density Relation
using Heavy Compaction.
13. Perkins, S.W. (1999), Mechanical response of
geosynthetic-reinforced
flexible
pavements.
Geosynthetics International 6 (5), 347-382.
14. Rao, G.V., Balan, K. (Eds.) (2000), Coir Geotextiles
Emerging Trends. The Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd
(Publishers), Alappuzha, Kerala.
15. Rawal, A., and Anandjiwala, R. (2007), Comparative
study between needle punched nonwoven geotextile
structures made from flax and polyester fibres.
Geotextiles and Geomembranes 25 (1), 6165.
16. Sankariah, B. and Narahari, R. (1988), Bearing capacity
of reinforced sand beds, in: Proc..on First Indian
Geotextile Conference on Reinforced soil and
geotextiles, Bombay, India, pp. C11-C13.
17. Sarsby, R.W.(2007), Use of Limited Life Geotextiles
(LLGs) for basal reinforcement of embankments built on
soft clay. Geotextiles and Geomembranes 25 (4-5), 302
310
18. Subaida, E.A., Chandrakaran, S. and Sankar, N. (2009),
Laboratory performance of unpaved roads reinforced
with woven coir geotextiles. Geotextiles and
Geomembranes. 27: 204-210.
top surface of the sand made leveled and the biaxial geogrid
reinforcement was placed at depth 0.5D below footing.
Again, the sand was filled over this geogrid reinforcement
layer in the tank. A manually controlled hydraulic jack with
activated loading piston, installed between the sliding beam
and strong reaction beam as shown in Figure 1 was used to
provide the required load on the footings. Both the footings
will be simultaneously loaded vertically. The vertical
displacement of each test footing was measured by taking the
average of two dial gauges readings. By gradually increasing
the load, a series of tests was carried out so as to monitor the
complete load-deformation plots till the ultimate failure
occurs. Each test was carefully controlled by observing the
displacement of each footing through dial gauge reading.
TEST RESULTS
Load settlements for each testing were plotted. The curves, in
general, show a linear variation in the initial portion and
become non-linear thereafter. Figure 2 shows average load
settlement curve for isolated circular footings.
Experimental Setup
The experimental setup used for studying the performance of
adjacent footing on reinforced sand is shown in Fig. 1.The
assembly for the model plate load test setup consist of a tank
of size 0.5m x 0.5m x 0.6m. A loading frame for applying the
load to the models is assembled over the tank. The load was
applied with manually controlled hydraulic jack and
measured with the help of proving ring. Dial gauges were
placed on each flanges of each footing to measure the
settlement.
Hydraulic
jack
Proving
ring
Load
cell
Magnetic
stand
Dial
gauge
Test
tank
Fig. 1 Experimental Setup
Test Procedure
The sand was poured in the tank by rainfall technique
keeping the height of fall as 35 cm to maintain the constant
relative density throughout the bed. The sand was poured up
to the location of the desired layer of reinforcement, then the
Load(kN)
CONCLUSIONS
From the present study following conclusions are drawn
1. Bearing capacity of model footings increases as the size of
footing increases.
2. Bearing capacity of interfering footing is more than that of
isolated footing of the same size.
3. Bearing capacity of interfering footing increases as spacing
between them decreases.
4. The settlement was observed to be increase as spacing is
decreased.
5. The efficiency factor decreases with increase in S/D ratio.
REFERENCES
1. Kumar J and Ghosh P. (2007), Ultimate Bearing
Capacity of Two Interfering Rough Strip Footings. Int J
Geomechanics ASCE; 7(1), pp 5362.
2. Kumar and Bhattacharya P. (2010), Bearing Capacity of
Interfering Multiple Strip Footings by Using Lower Bound
Finite Elements Limit Analysis, Computers and
Geotechnics , 37, pp 731736.
3. Lee J. and Eun J. (2009), Estimation of Bearing Capacity
for Multiple Footings in Sand Computers and
Geotechnics, 36, pp10001008.
4. Khan I.N. et.al (2006), A Study on Interference of Surface
Model Footing Resting on Sand, The Institution of
Engineers, Malaysia, Vol.67, March 2006, pp 15-23.
5. Kumar J. and Bhoi M.K. (2009), Interference of Two
Closely Spaced Strip Footings on Sand Using Model
Tests, J Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engg, ASCE
2008; 134(4), pp 595604.
6. Ghazavi M. and Lavasan A.A. (2008), Interference Effect
of Shallow Foundation Constructed on Sand Reinforced
with Geosynthetics, J. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 26
(2008), pp 404-415.
7. Kumar A. and Saran S. (2003), Closely Spaced Footings
on Geogrid-Reinforced Sand, J Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, pp. 1090-0241
(2003); 129:7(660).
8. Ghosh P. and Kumar P. (2009), Interference Effect of Two
nearby Strip Footing on Reinforced Sand. Contemporary
Engineering Science, Vol.2, 2009, No.12, pp 577-592.
ABSTRACT: The present study investigates the improvement in the bearing capacity of a local silty clay soil by replacing the
top portion with sand and placing geogrids at different depths. Several model tests were performed for a rectangular footing
resting on top of the soil to establish the load versus settlement curves of unreinforced and reinforced soil. The results show
that improvement of 8 to 61% was observed in ultimate bearing capacity depending on the location of geogrid and number of
geogrid layers.
INTRODUCTION
A conventional method to improve the bearing capacity of
problematic or soft soil is to remove a part of the existing
weak soil and replace it by granular soil [1]. The use of
geosynthetic materials to improve the bearing capacity and
settlement performance of shallow foundation has gained
attention in the field of geotechnical engineering. Several
researches [2-4] have demonstrated that the ultimate bearing
capacity and the settlement characteristics of foundation soil
can be improved by the inclusion of reinforcements in the
soils below footings. For the design of shallow foundations in
the field, the settlement becomes a governing criterion rather
than the bearing capacity. Hence, it is important to evaluate
the improvement in the bearing capacity of foundations, at
particular settlement level. The bearing capacity of soil also
changed with various factors like type of reinforcing
materials, number of reinforcement layers, ratios of different
parameters of reinforcing materials and foundations such as B
(width of foundation), u/B (1st layer of reinforcement/width
of foundation), h/B (the vertical spacing between consecutive
reinforcement layers/width of foundation), b/B (the length of
each reinforcement layer/ width of foundation), Df/B (depth
of foundation from ground level/width of foundation), type of
soil, texture of soil, unit weight (or density) of soil etc. [5-8].
Generally, all these studies are ultimately related to the
improvement in the bearing capacity of soil using reinforcing
materials and are related to the effect of various parameters
on bearing capacity. The improvement in the bearing
capacities is normally expressed in a non-dimensional form
as BCR (Bearing Capacity Ratio). Most of the studies either
used sand or clay only. The present study investigates the
bearing capacity of double layer of soil (i.e., the top of local
soil was replaced with a small thickness of sand) and also the
bearing capacity of a single layer local soil (for comparison
purposes) with varying the number of biaxial geogrid layers
at different depths while keeping other parameters constant.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
Materials Used
Two types of soils were used to conduct the experimental
study i.e., sand and local silty clay soil from Carbondale,
Illinois. Relevant properties of the local soil and sand were
determined in the laboratory by performing several tests in
accordance with respective ASTM standard. Tensar BX1100
Biaxial geogrid was used in the present study.
Test Tank
A model test tank with the dimensions having length (Lt)
762.0 mm, width (Bt) 304.8 mm and depth (Dt) 749.3 mm
was designed and fabricated to perform the test. The inside
walls of the tank were smooth to reduce the side friction.
Test Footing
A model footing, having length (l), width (b) and thickness
(d) equal to 284.48, 114.30 and 48.26 mm, respectively was
used in the experimental study. The footing dimensions were
selected based on the test tanks dimensions.
Laboratory Tests
In the present study double layer soil system was used to
conduct the experiment. The local soil was used at the bottom
part of the test tank overlain by a small thickness of sand
layer. In the geogrid reinforced model tests, the optimum
values related to the reinforcement arrangement, such as u, h
and b were adopted based on the test tank size and results
published by other researchers. The model rectangular
footing with width (B) is supported by sand as the top layer
and local soil as the bottom layer reinforced with N number
of geogrid layers having a width (b). The depth of
reinforcement (d) below the bottom of the footing can be
calculated by using Equation (1).
d = u + (N 1) h
(1)
Kolay, P.K., Kumar, S., Puri, V. K., Tiwari, D. / Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Fig. 1 Estimation for ultimate bearing capacity (qu) from bearing pressure versus s/B (%), (10% BM)
Fig. 2 Estimation for ultimate bearing capacity (qu) from bearing pressure versus s/B (%), (TIM)
Test
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Table 1 Ultimate bearing capacities for different tests for double layer under different condition
Percent (%)
BCR
Different condition of double layer soil
Ultimate Bearing
Improvement in BC
Capacity (kN/m2)
10% BM
TIM
10% BM
TIM
10% BM
Double layer soil
184.34
141.25
0.00
0.00
1.00
1 Geogrid at the interface of local soil
201.10
153.22
9.00
8.49
1.09
and sand layer
1 Geogrid in sand layer in double layer
229.83
172.37
24.67
22.03
1.24
soil condition
1 Geogrid in sand layer, and 1 geogrid in
248.98
201.10
35.06
42.37
1.35
junction of two soils
277.71
210.67
50.06
49.15
1.50
1 Geogrid in sand layer, 1 in the junction
of two soils and 1 in local soil,
respectively
1 Geogrids in sand layer, 1 in the junction
296.86
215.46
61.03
61.03
1.61
of two soils, 2 in local soil, respectively
TIM
1.00
1.08
1.22
1.42
1.49
1.52
Density ( g/cc)
d(max)
Finesand + 8% Clay
Stone chips
Bentonite clay
Coarse sand
1.52
1.64
1.21
1.64
d(min)
1.32
1.57
0.98
1.57
Void ratio
emin
emax
0.68
0.93
0.69
0.77
1.21
1.73
0.69
0.77
Specific gravity
2.55
2.78
2.68
2.61
Values
degrees
38.39
51.20
47.33
Cohesion
kPa
8
-
E
kPa
25000
75000
50000
0.35
0.28
0.30
Studies on the compaction sand piles and stone columns in uniformly graded sandy soils with clay
thickness 2 mm was pushed into the soil bed at the center of
the tank up to the desired depth. The closed end shoe was
removed from the pipe by a gentle push to the shoe by a rod
through the pipe. Stones or coarse sand were charged into the
hole in layers with a measured quantity to achieve a
compacted height of 50 mm. The pipe was then raised in
stages ensuring a minimum of 5 mm penetration below the
top level. To achieve a uniform density 1.50g/cc, compaction
was given with a tamping rod to each layer. The procedure
was repeated until the column is completed to the full height.
TEST PROCEDURE
After preparing the column, the load deformation behavior of
the column/treated soil was studied by applying vertical load
in a loading frame. To load the single column, a loading plate
of 60 mm diameter was placed over the column. In the case
of the column group, a 300 mm diameter plate was placed
over the columns. The load was applied through a proving
ring up to the settlement exceeded 6 mm. After completion of
each test, the shape of the column was established by
carefully filling the voids of column with a paste of plaster of
paris. This material is in powder form and when mixed with
water, it reforms into a thick paste and eventually gets
hardened into a solid within a day. After the paste gets
hardened, the surrounding soil was removed and a typical
shape obtained is shown in Fig. 3.
FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS
Axisymmetric analyses were carried out using MohrCoulombs criterion considering elastoplastic behavior for
sandy soils with clay, stones and coarse sand. A drained
behavior is assumed for all the materials. The input
CONCLUSIONS
The present work describes experimental and finite-element
analysis carried out to compare the behavior of a single and
group SC and CSP. Based on this study the following
conclusions are drawn;
1. Consider as a unit cell, the column axial stress of a
group of CSP is approximately equal to 0.4 times
the column axial stress of single CSP and in the case
of SC it is 0.2.
2. In medium dense state uniformly graded fine sand
with 8% clay the axial stress of single CSP is less
than SC. But in the case of group columns the axial
stress is more over same.
3. A close relation has been obtained between the
finite-element prediction and the measured model
test results. Based on this the parametric study can
be done.
4. In the case of CSP the radial strain is maximum at
top of the column. But in the case of SC radian
strain is maximum at a distance of 25mm from the
top.
REFERENCES
1. Hughes.J.M.O. et al. (1974). Reinforcing of soft
cohesive soils with stone columns. Ground Eng.,
7(3), 42-49.
2. Hughes. J.M.O. et al. (1976). A field trial of
reinforcing effect of stone column in soil. Proc.,
Ground Treatment by Deep Compaction. Institution
of Civil Engineers. London. 32-44.
3. Lee,K.M.,Manjunath,V.R.,Dewaikar,D.M.(1999).
Numerical and model studies of strip footing
supported by a reinforced granular fill-soft soil
system. Can, Geotech,J.,36(5), 793-807.
4. Narasimha Rao, et al. (1992). Influence of bearing
area on the behaviour of stone columns. Proc.,
Indian Geotech, Conf.,Calcuta,India, 235-237.
5. Rao,S.N., Reddy,K.M.,and Kumar,P.H.(1997).
Studies on groups of stone columns in soft clays.
Geotech, Eng., 28(2), 165-182.
6. Sudheer,K.V.,A. S.Jonson., Unnikrishnan,N.,(2011).
Behaviour of compaction sand pile and stone
column in fine sand with clay. Proc, IGC-2011 pp,
409-413.
ABSTRACT: This paper describes the results of model testing of single free head piles embedded in a sloping ground
subjected to lateral load. The soil around the pile is Cochin marine clay collected from Vallarpadam area. The influence of
slope and the length of pile on the structural behaviour of pile are studied. A laboratory experimental setup is designed to
model free head single instrumented pile in a sloping ground, reduced to a model scale. The experiments were carried out by
applying static lateral load and the aluminium model pile embedded in clayey soil. The load versus deflection behaviour of pile
and the variation of bending moment along the length of the pile are plotted and studied. The variation in the deflection and
bending moment of the pile is also analyzed.
INTRODUCTION
Large structures supported on vertical piles are often
subjected to significant lateral loads due to wind, earthquake,
wave, current etc. Harbour and coastal structures are prone to
considerable amount of lateral loads [4]. For the design of
such piles ultimate lateral resistance of a pile is required. The
aim of the present study is to study the structural behaviour of
laterally loaded flexible piles in sloping ground and to
evaluate the effect of length of the pile on the structural
behaviour of the pile. A series of model tests were conducted
in the geotechnical laboratory at Cochin University of
Science and Technology and the results were analysed.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A single pile under lateral load is analysed by many
researchers but the methods available for the improvement of
lateral load capacity are not studied in depth especially when
the pile is in a sloping ground. Davisson and Gill (1963)
investigated the behaviour of laterally loaded pile in a two
layer system analytically. It was found that the surface layer
has a significant influence on pile capacity, and a stiff layer
with thickness exceeding 0.2 times the radius of the pile,
considerably improves the load-deflection behaviour and
reduces the bending moments.
Broms (1964) presented a method for the calculation of
ultimate lateral resistance and lateral deflections at working
loads for a single pile driven in cohessionless soil. Reese et.al
(1974) conducted full scale lateral load test on pipe piles
having 24 inch diameter installed in sandy soil. Based on the
literature study it is observed that not much study was done in
the field of cohesive soil and also when the pile is embedded
in a sloping ground. This leads to the requirement for the
present study to predict the methods to improve the lateral
load capacity of piles in cohesive soil.
Dial Guage
Pulley
Pile
Slope 1:1.5
Load
RESULTS
Load-Deflection curve of a single laterally loaded free head
model pile resting on a sloping clay ground was plotted for
three different effective lengths to diameters (Le/D) of pile
[7]. It is observed that for a particular load, pile with Le/D
ratio 39.5 is having more deflection than the others with Le/D
ratio 32.5 and 29.
REFERENCES
1. Broms B.B (1964), Laeral Resistance of Piles in
Cohesive Soils, J. Soil Mechanics and Found. Div.,
ASCE, 90(2), 309-326
2. Deepak Raj and Gandhi, S.R (2004), Improvement
of Lateral Capacity of Pile Due to Compaction of
Surrounding Soil, Indian Geotechnical Conference2004
3. Karthigeyan , S , Ramakrishna,V.V.G.S.T and
Rajagopal, K.P (2006) Influence of vertical loads
on the lateral response of piles in sand. Computers
and Geotechnics. 33, 121-131
4. Phanikanth, V.S and Deepankar Choudhury,
Response of Single Pile under Lateral Loads in
Cohesionless Soils, Electronic Journal on
Geotechnical Engineering, Vol15, 2010, Bund.H
5. Phanikanth, V.S , Deepankar Choudhury and Rami
Reddy, Behaviour of Fixed Head Single Pile in
Cohesionless Soil under Lateral Loads, Electronic
Journal on Geotechnical Engineering,Vol15,2010,
Bund.M
6. Poulos H.G and Davis E.H (1980), Pile Foundation
Analysis and Design, John Wiley and SonsInc,
Newyork,N.Y
7. Rao, S.N et.al (1996), Behaviour of Pile Supported
Dolphins in Marine Clay Under Lateral Loading,
Journal of Geotechical Engineering, Vol122, No.8
8. Reese L.C, Cox W.R and Koop.F.D (1974),
Analysis of Laterally Loaded Piles in Sand, Proc. 5th
Annual Offshore Technology Conf., Paper No.OTC
2080 473-485
9. Salini, U. and Girish, M. S., Lateral Load Capacity
of Model Piles on Cohesionless Soil, Electronic
Journal on Geotechnical Engineering,Vol14,2009,
Bund.P
INTRODUCTION
Expansive soils undergo large volumetric changes with
change in moisture content. Increase in moisture content
during wet season causes swelling and reduction in moisture
content in dry season causes shrinkage in such soil. This
leads to heaving and settlement that causes distress in the
structures founded upon it such as; houses, pavements, rail
tracks, canal lining, embankments etc. Therefore, a major
concern of foundation engineer is to predict as accurately as
possible the volume change behavior (i.e shrinkage) of soil.
Shrinkage behavior is one of the important criteria with
respect to the design of back fill materials to be used in
various applications, such as nuclear waste disposal projects
[1-7]. In this paper the shrinkage behaviour of soil with wide
range of plasticity characteristic has been investigated
through a series of experiments.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Primarily an expansive soil (ES) and a residual soil (RS) that
represent the extreme types of soil are used in the present
study. Expansive soil used in this study is a commercially
available bentonite. This soil, a typical of highly expansive
clay, has montmorillonite as chief clay mineral. The specific
gravity, liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit of this
soil are found to be 2.63, 459.94%, 53.7% and 7%
respectively. As per ASTM D2487, the soil is classified as
clay with high plasticity (CH). The residual soil used consists
of 83% fines in which silt is predominant (71.74%). The
specific gravity, liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit
of this soil are found to be 2.67, 45.33%, 25.99% and 25.45%
respectively. As per ASTM D 2487, the soil is classified as
clay with medium compressibility (CI).
Shrinkage Test
Shrinkage Limit
The tests for shrinkage limit were carried out as per the
ASTM D 427. The entrapped air in the soil sample in the
shrinkage dish was carefully expelled out. Cracking during
drying was prevented by first allowing the soil pat to dry very
slowly in the air under controlled condition followed by oven
drying to a constant mass. The shrinkage limit reported is the
average of three of trials.
Volumetric Shrinkage
Soil specimens were prepared in the same procedure as in
case of oedometer swell tests. The moist soils were
transferred to PVC rings of 69 mm internal diameter and 40
mm height. The soil contained in the ring was placed on the
metallic pedestal and was statically compressed to 20 mm
thickness using a hand-operated static press. The weight of
dry soil and water content were taken such that Proctor
maximum dry density condition is attained. Dry filter paper
was placed both at top and bottom of the compacted soil
sample in the ring. Over the filter papers were placed, two
perforated Perspex sheets having 2mm holes, one at each end,
to allow free access of water. The whole assembly was placed
in a tray and a normal surcharge of 5 kPa was applied onto it
through dead weights. Distilled water was poured in the tray
that the soil sample is submerged. The submerged soil was
allowed to swell for 30 days. After this, water was taken out
from tray and the swollen soil was allowed to dry at
temperature of 30 30C, while the surcharge pressure of 5
kPa was maintained. As shrinkage of soil progressed due to
drying, the weight, height and diameter of the specimen were
measured at every 24 hours. The diameter of the specimen
was measured through vernier caliper and height through a
table top dial gauge assembly. Measurement of height and
diameter were taken at five different places, the average
value of which is used for obtaining the volume of the
specimen at different stages of shrinkage. The void ratio and
water content of the soil samples, at regular intervals during
shrinkage are obtained through the following relations.
e0 =
G w
V
e
=
V0 1 + e0
e = e0 e
w
w = w0
100
ws
(1)
( 2)
(3)
(4)
25
400
20
300
15
200
10
100
0
0
20
40
60
80
2.6
100
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
30
100%ES
80%ES+20%RS
60%ES+40%RS
40%ES+60%RS
20%ES+80%RS
100%RS
2.4
Void ratio, e
30
Aggregation
0.4
Flocculation
25
0.2
0
20
15
Dispersion
10
20
40
60
Water content, w (%)
80
100
5
0
100
200
300
Liquid limit (%)
400
500
Initial
shrinkage
region
Void ratio, e
Primary shrinkage
region
Residual shrinkage
region
Water content, w (%)
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results obtained, the following conclusions can
be made on the shrinkage behaviour of expansive soilresidual soil mixes.
1.
2.
3.
REFERENCES
1.
Sridharan, A. and Rao, G.V (1971), Effective stress
theory
of
shrinkage
phenomena,
Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, 8(4), 503-513.
2.
Chen F.H (1975), Foundations on expansive Soils,
Elsevier Publishing co., Amsterdam.
3.
Sridharan A, Prakash K (1998), Mechanism controlling
shrinkage limit of soils, Geotech. Test. Jl. 21(3):240
250
4.
Sridharan, A and Prakash, K (2000), Shrinkage limit of
soil mixtures, Geotech. Test. Jl, 23(1), 3-8.
5.
Sivapullaiah, P.V., Sridharan, A. and Bhaskar Raju,
K.V. (2000), Role of amount and type of clay in the
lime stabilization of soils, Ground Improvement, 4, 3745.
6.
Fredlund, D.G and Rahardjo, H. (1993), Soil
Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils, John Wiley &
Sons,In
7.
Mishra, A. K., Dhawan, S. and Rao, S. M. (2008),
Analysis of swelling and shrinkage behaviour of
compacted clays, Geotech. & Geolog. Engg. 26, 289298.
8.
Mitchell, J. K. and Soga, K. (2005), Fundamentals of
Soil Behaviour, 3rd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, New
York.
9.
Yong, R.N. and Warkentin, B.P. (1975), Introduction
to Soil Behaviour, Mc. Millan Company, NY.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT: Greater parts of Cochin area have large quantities of soft marine clay deposits which exhibit high liquid limit,
low shear strength and high compressibility. This paper presents the stabilization of Cochin marine clay, using fly ash which is
a byproduct of Hindustan News Prints Kottayam. The paper presents the index and engineering properties of marine clay. To
find out the maximum dry density and optimum water content, compaction tests are carried out for soil with various percentage
of fly ash. To study the effect of fly ash on the shear strength of marine clay, a series of unconfined compression tests are
carried out, by varying the fly ash content in the soil. The tests indicate an improved strength and better properties of marine
soil, when stabilized with fly ash.
INTRODUCTION
India being a peninsular country has large area under coastal
region. The soil which is found in the coastal regions is
generally called as marine clay. Marine clays are found in
ocean bed as well as onshore. Marine clay is an uncommon
type of clay and normally exists in soft consistency. These
types of clays are generally found in the places of West
Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Karnataka, Maharashtra, and some parts of Gujarat. Most of
the marine clays are highly compressive with low bearing
capacity. The natural water content of the marine clay is
always greater than its liquid limit.
In Cochin the presence of soft marine clay deposits in most
areas warrants the use of expensive deep foundations for
majority of the structures built over there. Besides the
settlement of the foundations is a challenging problem
associated with the buildings constructed in these areas. The
settlement of the structure causes heavy financial loss to the
owners. The presence of high water content in these clays
poses considerable difficulties in the construction of the
embankments and other engineering structures on these soils.
These clays are moderately sensitive with liquidity indices
ranging from the value 0.46 to 0.87.
Due to increased infrastructure activities along the coastal
lines, it has become a necessity to utilize these areas, after
suitable methods of improvement in the ground. Soil
stabilization is a well established technique for the
improvement of the desirable properties such as shear
strength, load bearing capacity etc. Mechanical stabilization
and chemical stabilization are the most commonly used
ground improvement techniques. In the chemical stabilization
various additives such as lime, cement, gypsum, rock dust,
rise husk ash or fly ash are added to the soil to improve the
engineering properties of soil. Among these fly ash is the
cheapest one. Soil stabilization by means of fly ash has
environmental benefits also. At present, in India thermal
power plants produce about 90 million tones of fly ash per
annum, and hardly 13 percent of its utilized. Fly ash is
creating lot of health hazard and requires large areas of
precious land for its disposal. The bulk utilization of fly ash
is possible only in case of civil engineering applications.
Thus the disposal of this ash is now become an urgent and
challenging task for us.
A comprehensive review of the literature indicates that
considerable amount of work related to the determination of
engineering behavior of marine soils has been carried out
worldwide. Plasticity index, activity, and swelling potential
of the samples decrease with increasing percent of stabilizer
and curing time. Addition of 20% fly ash decreases the
swelling potential obtained with 8% lime addition [1]. The
addition of fly ash reduces the plasticity, liquid limit and free
swell index. Higher the density of the clay-fly ash blend
lower would be the hydraulic conductivity [2]. Liquid limit
and plasticity index values decrease with addition of fly ash
in combination with lime to marine clay. Dry density
increases with addition of fly ash where as dry density
decreases with addition of lime. CBR value of the treated
sample gets increased with addition of fly ash and lime to the
marine clay [3]. Using unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests
confirm that shear strength of the marine soil increases with
logarithmic manner with the rate of loading. Cyclic strain
controlled tests carried out with remolded clay samples
indicate linear relation of degradation index with number of
cycles in log-log scale [4].Unconfined compressive strength
and CBR increase with addition of rise husk ash and fly ash.
Rise husk ash content of 12% and a fly ash content of 25%
are recommended for strengthening the expansive subgrade
soil while a fly ash content of 15% is recommended for
blending into rise husk ash to form a swell reduction layer
[5]. The inclusion of random fibers in marine clay increases
the shear strength significantly. The shear strength increases
nonlinearly with length up to 20mm beyond which an
increase in length of fiber decreases the shear strength [6].
Addition of fly ash increases the strength of clay. 60% fly ash
by weight gives the optimum mix [7].
Experimental Investigations
The experimental investigation is carried out in marine clay.
The specific gravity of soil and fly ash are 2.16 and 2.12
respectively. The specific gravity of materials is determined
using the density bottle method. The soil and fly ash are
designated as MC and FA respectively.
The maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture
content (OMC) of marine clay alone and marine clay-fly ash
mixture are determined by proctor compaction tests. The tests
are done in accordance with Indian Standard Test Procedure
(IS: 2720-part 7). The quantity of fly ash to be added to the
soil is taken as a percentage of dry weight of soil. Proper care
is taken at each stage of mixing to get a uniform mixture.
Unconfined compression tests are conducted in accordance
with Indian Standard Test method (IS: 2720-part10). Each
sample has length of 76mm and diameter 38 mm. Fly ash
stabilized soil samples are prepared at their respective
optimum moisture content and maximum dry density. Load
deformation behavior of unstabilized marine clay and marine
clay stabilized with fly ash at different percentage are
studied.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Paper No B 280
Sub Theme: Development in Dealing with Difficult Ground Conditions and Geotechnical Structures
ABSTRACT: Geotechnical engineers face the difficulties while designing the road on highly compressible clayey soil because
such soil is susceptible to differential settlement due to poor engineering properties. Among the various ground improvement
techniques, reinforcing the soil using the fibers is a new technique and yet not well known. In this paper series of laboratory
tests on un-reinforced and fiber reinforced soil with different amount of fibers were conducted. It was observed that there is a
significant increase in CBR value with the inclusion of fibers. As per IRC 37-2001, based on CBR values the flexible
pavements resting on fiber reinforced soil for traffic volumes of 1msa to 150msa were designed and modeled using finite
element software Plaxis 2D. It is found that there is a considerable reduction in deformation on the top of sub-grade due to
reinforcing the sub-grade soil using fibers.
INTRODUCTION
In the case of geotechnical engineering the idea of
inserting fibrous materials in a soil mass in order to improve
its mechnical behaviour has become very popular. The
concept of earth reinforcement is an ancient technique and
demonstrated abundanty in nature by animals, birds and the
action of tree roots. These reinforcement resists tensile stress
developed within the soil mass thereby restricting shear
failure. Reinforcement intracts with the soil through friction
and adhesion. The practicing engineers are employing this
technique for stabilization of thin soil layers, reparing failed
slopes, soil strengthing around the footings and earth
retaining structures. The enclusion of randomly distributed
discrete fiber increases strength parameters of the soil as in
case of reinforced concrete construction.
The concept of soil reinforcement was first
developed by Vidal (1969). He demonstrated that the
introduction of reinforcement elements in a soil mass
increases the shear resistance of the soil matrix. The primary
purpose of reinforcing soil mass is to improve its stability,
increase its bearing capacity and reduce settlements and
lateral deformation (Hausman- 1990, Prabaker & Sridhar2002). The investigations indicate that strength properties of
fiber reinforced soils are the function of fiber content, fiber
surface friction along the soil mass and fiber strength
characterises. (Hoare- 1979, Andersland & Khattak- 1979,
Gray and Ohashi- 1983, Maher- 1988, Ranjan et al.- 1996,
Nataraj & Mcmanis- 1997, Kaniraj & Havanagi- 2001,
Yestimoglu & Salbas- 2003, Praveenkumar & Swami - 2008,
Ameta- 2009).
The stabilization of sub-grade soil with radomly
distributed fibers in the flexible pavement has not been fully
investigated. Thus in the present study behaviour of flexible
pavement resting on un-reinforced and fiber reinforced
subgrade soil is analyzed through finite element method. A
general purpose finite element package, Plaxis 2D was used
for modeling the flexible pavement.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
Soil Sample used
For the present study, Soil samples blackish in colour were
collected. All the preliminary tests as mentioned in Table 1
were conducted as per relevant Indian Standards. The
engineering properties of soil are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Engineering properties of soil used
Properties
Values
Specific gravity
2.44
Gravel, %
1
Sand, %
8
Silt, %
66
Clay, %
25
Liquid limit, %
52.9
Plastic limit, %
27.5
Plasticity index, %
25.4
Shrinkage limit, %
23.5
IS classification
CH
Maximum dry density, gm/cc
1.65
Optimum moisture content, %
16.23
Soil Reinforcement used
For the improvement of engineering properties of clayey soil
polyester fibers are used as a reinforcement which is supplied
by Reliance Industry Limited. The properties of fibers are
listed as: type = Polyester, cut length = 12.1mm, cross section
= triangular, diameter = 30 40 m, tensile elongation =
>100%, specific gravity = 1.34-1.39, tensile strength = 400
600 N/m2. Due to triangular cross section fibers are better
bonded with clay particle.
California Bearing Ratio Test
To study the effects of adding polyester fibers on the strength
characteristics of highly compressible clay soil for sub grade
CBR tests were conducted. The amount of fiber content were
varies from 0 to 1.50% (by weight of dry soil). The Polyester
the loaded area, which is more than 4 times loaded area. The
linear elastic analysis was carried out to evaluate the response
of flexible pavement resting on un-reinforced and reinforced
sub grade soils. The stress and deformation within the
pavement section and vertical strain at top of the sub grade
was obtained.
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0.00
0.25
0.50
0.75
1.00
Fiber Content %
1.25
1.50
1.75
The settlement on the top of sub grade for unreinforced soil for 150msa traffic volume is 0.884
mm, which is reduced to 0.350 mm for fiber
reinforced soil having fiber content 0.50%.
REFERENCES
1. O. B. Andersland and A. S. Khattak. (1979), Shear
strength of kaolinite/fiber soil mixtures, Proc.
International Confrence on Soil Reinforcement, Paris,
France. 1, 11-76.
2. D. J. Hoare. (1979), Laboratory study of granular soils
reinforced with randomly oriented discrete fibers, Proc.
Int. Conf. on Use of Fabrics in Geotech., Paris, France.
1, 47-52.
3. D. H. Gray, and H. Oshashi. (1983), Mechanics of fiberreinforcement in sand, Jl. of
Geotechnical
Enggineering, ASCE, 109 (3), 335-353.
4. R. L. Michalowski, and A. Zhao. (1960), Failure of
fiber-reinforced granular soils, Jl. of Geotechnical
Engineering, ASCE 122 (3), 226234.
5. S. R. Kaniraj and V. G. Havanagi Behaviour of cementstabilized fiber-reinforced fly ash-soil mixtures, , Jl. of
Geotechnical and Geoenviromental Engineering, ASCE
127 (7), pp.574-584, 2001.
6. J. S. Tingle, R. L. Santoni and S. L. Webster. (2002),
Full scale field tests of discrete fiber reinforced sand, Jl.
of Transportation Engineering, 128(1).
7. T. Yetimoglu and O. Salbas. (2005), A study on shear
strength of sands reinforced with randomly discrete
fibers, Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 21(2), 103-110.
8. G. L. Shivkumar Babu, A. K. Vasudevan and M. K.
Sayida. (2008), Use of coir fibers for improving the
engineering properties of expansive soils, Jl. of Natural
Fibers, 5 (1), 61-75, 2008.
Table 2 Settlement on the top of subgrade soil for cumulative traffic volume of 1msa to 150msa
Settlement on the top of sub-grade (i), mm
Fiber
content
Cumulative traffic volume, msa
(f),%
1
2
3
5
10
20
30
50
1.300
1.150
1.050
1.010
1.000
0.915
0.914
0.905
0.00
100
0.890
150
0.884
0.25
1.140
1.000
0.920
0.855
0.750
0.711
0.693
0.672
0.653
0.634
0.50
0.748
0.648
0.581
0.519
0.427
0.408
0.391
0.377
0.364
0.350
1.00
1.020
0.889
0.794
0.702
0.617
0.588
0.567
0.542
0.531
0.514
1.50
1.150
1.010
0.925
0.858
0.751
0.755
0.699
0.671
0.655
0.639
Paper No B 280
Sub Theme: Development in Dealing with Difficult Ground Conditions and Geotechnical Structures
Fig. 4. The relationship between fiber content, CBR value, total pavement thickness and settlement on the top of sub-grade
soil of CH type
l
d
Stone Column
(a)
(b)
Fig. 1 Different modes of reinforcement of stone columns
90
80
70
60
50
40
Kaolinite clay
30
Stone chips
20
10
0
0.001
0.01
0.1
10
Diameter (mm)
60
50
Sand mat
Stone column
300
Soft soil
550
Tank
All dimensions
are in mm
30
300
10
/cu
15
20
25
30
0.00
0.05
0.10
/l
0.15
0.20
0.25
Plain clay
Unreinforced
x = l/2
x=l
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Fig. 4 Deformed shapes of columns (d = 30 mm, l = 300
mm): (a) Ordinary floating column; (b) End bearing single
column reinforced with horizontal strips of geotextile at 30
mm spacing for full column length; (c) Fully encased end
bearing column; (d) Fully encased floating column
10
/cu
15
20
25
30
0.00
0.05
0.10
/l
Plain clay
Unreinforced
x = l/2
x=l
/cu
15
20
25
30
0.25
0.05
0.10
/l
0.20
10
/cu
15
20
25
30
0.00
0.05
/l
0.10
0.15
0.25
10
0.00
0.15
0.20
Plain clay
Unreinforced
s = d/2, x = l/2
s = d/2, x = l
0.15
0.20
0.25
Unreinforced
Plain clay
s = d, x = l
s = d/2, x = l/2
s = d/2, x = l
ABSTRACT: Stone column are extensively used to improve the bearing capacity of poor ground and to reduce the settlement
of structures built on them, it improves the shear strength of soil. The stone column technique is widely used to strengthen the
ground so as to support various geotechnical facilities like embankments and oil tanks on poor ground. In the present
investigation, load versus settlement response of the stone column and reinforced stone column i.e. geotextile encased stone
column were studied in the laboratory. It is found from the literature not much studies were conducted on geosynthetic encased
stone columns Load tests were performed on black cotton soil bed stabilized with four columns in square pattern and
reinforced stone column for different L/D and S/D ratios. The L/D ratios adopted are 10 and 8 and S/D ratios adopted are 1.5, 2
and 2.5. The settlements in reinforced stone columns are found to be lower than the unreinforced stone columns and the
settlement decreased with the increasing stiffness of the encasing material.
Key Words: Stone Column, settlement, geosynthetics, load tests.
1. INTRODUCTION
Among the various methods for improving in situ ground
conditions, stone columns are considered one of the most
versatile and cost-effective ground improvement techniques.
Stone columns have been used extensively in weak deposits
to increase the load carrying capacity, reduce settlement of
structural foundations and accelerate consolidation
settlements due to reduction in flow path lengths. Another
major advantage with this technique is the simplicity of its
construction method.
Stone column construction involves the partial replacement of
existing subsurface soils with a compacted vertical column of
stone that usually completely penetrates the weak strata. The
presence of the column creates a composite material of lower
overall compressibility and higher shear strength than the
native soil alone. Confinement, and thus stiffness of the
stone, is provided by the lateral stress within the weak soil.
An axial load applied at the top of a single stone column
produces a large bulge to a depth of 2 to 3 times the diameters
beneath the surface. This bulge, in turn, increases the lateral
stress within the clay which provides additional confinement
for the stone. At equilibrium state vertical movement reduces
when compared to that of the unimproved soil. Stone column
groups loaded over the entire area undergo less bulging than
for a single stone column. Stone columns are ideally suited
for improving soft silts and clays and loose silty sands.
The improvements in bearing capacity via stone columns are
achieved through the inclusion of a stronger granular
material. In response to a vertical load, an expanded stone
column will squeeze the native soil, and result in an
additional confining pressure onto the column. This in turn
leads to an increase in the stiffness and strength of the
column. However, insufficient lateral support at shallow
column depth (top portion) frequently causes bulging failure
at the top portion of the column. Therefore, reinforcement in
granular columns, especially over the top few meters is
needed to provide lateral support to enhance the lateral
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
Fig.1(a)
Fig.1(b)
Fig.1(a) and Fig.(b) Schematic diagram showing End bearing
and Floating Stone Column.
Figure 1(a) and (b) shows the setup of end bearing and
floating columns respectively. The tests were conducted on
both single column and four columns. The stone column was
extended to the full depth for a height 300mm so that l/d ratio
(length of column/diameter of the column) is 10 which are
required to develop full limiting axial stress on the column.
Also load tests were carried out on the stone columns of
height 240 mm so that l/d ratio is 8. Vertical stress was
applied through bearing plate of size 150mm X 150mm. The
load was applied through a proving ring at a constant
displacement rate of 1.2 mm/min. A proving ring was used to
measure the load and a dial gauge is used to measure the
deformation. Load was applied through a 10 mm thick mild
steel plate.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The loads obtained by various composite columns are
presented in Table 1. The yield load of these columns are
estimated by plotting load-settlement curves and the load
corresponding to 30 mm settlement is taken as the yield load.
Table 1.The load carrying capacity of stone columns at
various L/d and S/d ratios corresponding, to single and group
of stone columns, for the case of unreinforced and reinforced
stone columns.
S.No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Type of
bed
C
C+1SC
C+1RSC
C+4SC
C+4RSC
C+4SC
L/d
10
8
10
8
10
10
10
10
10
10
8
s/d
1.5
2
2.5
1.5
2
2.5
1.5
Load at 30mm
settlement
2.
1.51
2.0
1.76
2.35
2.06
3.56
4.76
4.3
4.24
5.87
4.3
3.54
A comparative study of load-settlement response of black cotton soil using stone columns with and without encasement of geosynthetics
13
8
2
14
8
2.5
15
C+4RSC
8
1.5
16
8
2
17
8
2.5
C refers loading claybed alone.
SC refers stone column .
RSC refers Reinforced stone column.
3.83
3.6
3.97
4.5
4.16
4. CONCLUSIONS
1. Inclusion of stone columns considerably improves the load
deformation characteristics of Black cotton soil.
2. The load carrying capacity was found more for l/d ratio
equal to 10 (End bearing stone columns) than when compared
to 8 (Floating stone columns).
3. A group of four stone columns takes up more loads when
compared to single stone column and untreated soil.
4. As s/d ratio increases from 1.5 to 2, the load carrying
capacity increases for floating and end bearing stone columns
and the same trend was observed for both the cases of
unreinforced and reinforced stone columns. As the s/d ratio
further increases to 2.5 the load carrying capacity decreases
for all the cases.
5. As compared to different configurations of unreinforced
stone column the geosynthetic encased stone column has
taken more load for the same settlement indicating the
increase in stiffness of stone coulum encased with
geosynthetic material.
7. Quarry dust, though a waste product helps in filling the
voids between stone aggregates in the column used in
improving the load deformation characteristics of the soil and
hence quarry dust can be economically and effectively used
and safely disposed.
REFERENCES
1. Ambily, A.P., and Gandhi, S.R.,Behaviour of Stone
Columns Based on Experimental and FEM Analysis,
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, vol.133, 2007, pp.405-415.
2. Ambily, A.P. and Ganghi, S.R. (2006). Effect of sand
pad thickness on load sharing in stone column. Proc.
Indian Geotechnical Conference, Chennai, 555-556.
3. DiptySarin Isaac and Girish M. S. (2009) Suitability of
Different Materials for Stone Column Construction. The
Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering.Vol,
14. Bund M.
4. IS 15284 (Part I): 2003 "Indian Standard Code of
Practice on. Design and Construction for Ground
Improvement - Guidelines, Part 1 - Stone Columns"
Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
5. Prakash, C., Ramakrishna, V.V.G.S.T., Sharma, A.K.
and Rastogi, P.c. (2002) "Strengthening of Alluvial
Soils by Rammed Stone Columns for LPG Mounded
Storage Facilities", Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Ground
Improvement Techniques. Kualalumpur, Malaysia.
6. Saha, A. and Das, S.C. (1999): "Parametric Study of
Settlement
Reduction
in
Soil-Stone
Column
Interaction", Proc. Indian Geotechnical Conference
(IGC-99), Calcutta, Vol.1, pp.173-179.
7. Singh, A., Soneja, M.R. and Sharma, A.K. (1988):
"Ground Improvement of a Residential Complex by
Granular Piles", Proc. Indian Geotechnical Conference
(IGC-88), Allahabad, Vol.1, pp.185-190.
8.
INTRODUCTION
Granular pile/ Stone column, made up of granular materials
compacted in long cylindrical bore holes, is an economical
and efficient ground improvement technique for wide range
of soils. In early 1960, this technique was first adopted in
Europe and thereafter it has been used successfully for 1)
increasing bearing capacity of weak deposits, 2) improving
slope stability of both embankments and natural slopes, 3)
reducing the liquefaction potential of sands, 4) reducing the
total and differential settlement, and 5) increasing the time
rate of settlement. In practice, granular piles are constructed
as end bearing or floating piles. GP may fail individually or
as a group. The possible failure mechanisms of single
granular pile include bulging failure, shear failure, and
punching failure [4]. This study is focused on bulging
behavior of single-isolated floating granular pile. To
understand the bulging behavior of a GP, many studies based
on numerical modeling, laboratory testing and field testing
have been carried out. If the length of granular pile is greater
than 4 to 6 times its diameter, the failure mechanism will be
the bulging mode, irrespective of whether it is end bearing or
floating pile [10]. The bulging failure is the most common
failure criterion, since most of constructed GPs in the field
have lengths equal to or greater than 4 to 6 times its diameter
[6]. The lateral confinement from the surrounding soil
influences the overall bulging behavior of the pile. Since the
lateral confinement from the surrounding soil increases with
the depth, bulging occurs near the surface and is suppressed
away from the surface, except for cases such as the presence
of intermediate layer of very weak soil like peat with
thickness greater than about one pile diameter [4]. According
to studies conducted by Barkdale and Bachus (1983) and
Nayak et al (2010), bulging depth will be equal to 2 to 3
times the pile diameter [4,12]. Bulging depth is defined as the
depth over which the lateral deformations of the granular
material pile occur. Nayak et al (2010) proposed that the
maximum bulging occurs at a depth of 0.5 to 0.8 times the
diameter of pile from surface [12]. Ambily and Gandhi
(2007) reported that maximum bulging will occur at a depth
of 0.5 times diameter of the granular pile, if the GP is loaded
alone [1]. These studies consider the group effects of GPs
using unit cell concept. Deb et. al (2011) observed that the
maximum bulging occurs at a depth of 1.2 times of column
diameter in the case of the granular pile embedded in clay
and bulging diameter has a magnitude of 1.24 times the pile
diameter [6]. Since these observations are based on small
scale model tests, limitations of scale and boundary effects
exist [6]. Field test findings on the bulging behavior of GP
are also reported in the literature [2,3,8,9]. In this study, the
soil and GP parameters such as angle of shearing resistance
and dilatancy angle of granular material, undrained shear
strength of soft clay, deformation moduli of granular material
and soft clay, etc. are varied to study their influence on
bulging behavior of GP. For this, finite element modeling
was performed using commercially available software
PLAXIS 2D.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
The objective of this paper is to study the bulging behaviour
of a single-floating granular pile embedded in a semi- infinite
medium of clay (Fig. 1). Mohr-Coulomb criterion is used to
model the elastic-perfectly plastic response of clay and GP.
q
Granular Pile
Elastic Properties- Ep, p
Unit weight - p
Shear strength Properties- c, ,
Clay
Elastic Properties- Ec, c
L
Unit weight - c
Undrained Shear Strength - cu
300
Load (kN)
250
200
150
PLAXIS Result
100
50
0
0
100
200
K (Modular Ratio)
300
400
(1)
10
15
20
25
Effect of loading
Instead of applying load, incremental prescribed
displacement (up to 10 cm) is applied on the top of granular
pile. Maximum bulging increases from 1.54 mm to 15.55 mm
(Fig. 8) corresponding to a prescribed vertical displacement
of 1 cm and 10 cm, respectively. But, depth of maximum
bulging is not affected by load increment. Bulging depth
increases from 2.04 m to 4.31 m. Equation [Eq. (1)] proposed
by Brauns (1978) does not consider the load effect on bulging
depth. Zhang et al. (2012) [13] reported that values of
maximum bulging increases with increase in load on the GP.
Similar behavior of granular pile is observed in this study.
Lateral Displacement (mm)
-5
=30 deg.
=35 deg.
=40 deg.
=45 deg.
=50 deg.
10
15
20
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
Cuc=15 kPa
Cuc = 25 kPa
4
Cuc = 40 kPa
10
15
20
-5
10
15
20
Depth (m)
1
2
1 cm
2.5 cm
5 cm
=5 deg.
=8 deg.
=10 deg.
Depth (m)
=15 deg.
7.5 cm
10 cm
10
15
20
0
1
Depth (m)
2
Ep=25000 kPa
Ep=35000 kPa
4
Ep=50000 kPa
5
6
10
15
20
Depth (m)
1
2
3
Ec=2500 kPa
Ec=5000 kPa
Ec=7500 kPa
10
15
20
0
1
Depth (m)
D=40 cm
3
4
5
6
D=60 cm
D=80 cm
D=100 cm
INTRODUCTION
The broad methods of soil stabilization includes: mechanical
stabilization, hydraulic stabilization, physical & chemical
stabilization and stabilization by inclusion and confinement.
Of these methods, last two methods are by which we can
effectively use solid waste materials. Substitution of natural
soils, aggregates, and cement with solid industrial or natural
wastes is highly desirable. Although the concept of randomly
reinforced soil is relatively new in geotechnical engineering
but the reinforcement of clay soils with natural fibers has
been practiced from the time of Pharaohs (Estabragh et al.
2011). Recently soil reinforcement with short, discrete,
randomly oriented fibers is getting more attention from many
researchers around the world. Extensive studies were carried
out on the stabilization of soft clays and expansive clays
using various additives such as lime, cement, synthetic and
natural fibers. Ranjan et al. (1994) conducted a series of triaxial tests to study the behavior of Plastic Fiber Reinforced
sand. Maher and Ho (1994) investigated the mechanical
properties of a Kaolinite/fiber composite in unconfined
compression tests. Kaniraj et al. (2003) conducted an
experimental study to investigate the influence of randomly
oriented fiber inclusions on the geotechnical behaviour of
two Indian fly ashes. Akbulut et al. (2007) evaluated the use
of waste materials such as scrap tire rubber, polyethylene,
and polypropylene fiber for the improvement of strength and
dynamic behaviour of clayey soils. The effect of
polypropylene fiber inclusion into soil in the improvement of
soil behaviour through a series of experimental investigations
was established by many scholars (DallAqua et al. 2010;
Jiang et al. 2010).
Estabragh et al. (2011) investigated the effects of fiber on the
consolidation and shear strength behaviour of a clay soil
reinforced with nylon fibers. The effective use of natural
fibers as reinforcement was proved by several researches.
Basha et al. (2004) conducted study on stabilization of
residual soils by chemically using cement and rice husk ash.
Akhtar et al. (2008) studied the influence of Fly ash mixed
with lime having varying percentage of human hair fibers in
Value
2.57
51%
27%
1.64 g/cc
20.41%
68 %
32 %
0%
Increm
-ent
Factor
(%)
1.00
1.25
1.53
1.76
1.90
1.88
Increm
-ent
Factor
(%)
1.00
1.51
1.60
1.51
1.46
1.70
CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions are drawn on the basis of test
results obtained and discussion made in this study:
From Consistency limits tests, it is found that the effect
of fiber inclusion on consistency limits were minimal.
From Proctor compaction tests, it is observed that
inclusion of human hair fibers marginally affects the dry
density-moisture content relationships of Kaolinite clay.
The UCC strength of unreinforced and reinforced soils is
substantially different; reinforced soil+fiber mixtures
show higher strength than unreinforced clay. With
addition of 2.0% fibers by weight, the unconfined
compressive strength increased up to 1.9 times that of
unreinforced soil. From the stress-strain curve it is clear
that the ductility of composite is also improved. This
clearly indicates that the human hair fiber could be used
in the improvement of cohesive soils.
Significant improvement in tensile strength was observed
in splitting tensile test with the addition of Human hair
fibres. For Kaolinite clay, tensile strength improved to a
maximum of 1.7 times that of unreinforced soil at 2%
fiber inclusion.
REFERENCES
1. Akbulut, S., Arasan, S. and Kalkan, E. (2007). Modification of clayey soils using scrap tire rubber and synthetic
fibers. Applied Clay Science, 38, 2332.
2. Akthar, J.N., Alam, J. and Ahmad, Sh. (2008). The
influence of randomly oriented hair fiber and lime on the
CBR value of Dadri fly ash. Asian Jl. of Civil Engg.
(Building and Housing), 9(5), 505-512.
3. Akthar, J. N.,Ahmad, Sh. (2009). The effect of randomly
oriented hair fiber on mechanical properties of fly ashbased hollow block for low height masonry structures.
Asian Jl. of Civil Engg, 10(2), 221-228.
4. Dallaqua, G. P., Ghataora, G. S. and Ling, U. K.
(2010). Behaviour of fiber-reinforced and stabilized
clayey soils subjected to cyclic loading. Studia
Geotechnica et Mechanica, Vol. XXXII (3).
5. Estabragh, A. R., Bordbar, A. T. and Javadi, A. A.
(2011). Mechanical behaviour of a Clay soil reinforced
with Nylon fibers. Geotech Geol Eng, 29, 899908.
6. Jiang, H., Cai, Y. and Liu, J. (2010). Engineering
Properties of Soils Reinforced by Short Discrete
Polypropylene Fiber. Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, ASCE 22(12), 1315-1322.
7. Kaniraj, S. R. and Gayathri, V. (2003). Geotechnical
behavior of fly ash mixed with randomly oriented fiber
inclusions. Geotextiles & Geomembranes, 21, 123149.
8. Maher, M. H. and Ho, Y. C. (1994). Mechanical
properties of Kaolinite/Fiber soil composite. Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering ASCE, 120(8), 1381-1393.
9. Ramesh, H. N., Krishnan, K. V. M. and Mamatha, H. V.
(2010). Compaction and strength behaviour of lime-coir
fiber treated Black Cotton soil. Geomechanics and
Engineering, 2(1), 19-28.
10. Ranjan, G., Vasan, R. M. and Charan, H. D. (1994).
Behaviour
of
Plastic-Fiber-Reinforced
Sand.
Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 13, 555-565.
ABSTRACT: Construction on soft ground poses many problems due to low shear strength, differential settlement,
construction pore pressure development etc., it has been challenging task to improve the soft grounds. The increased land use
pattern has put pressure to develop techniques for ground improvement of soil deposit. The ground improvement techniques
are generally based on densification, inclusion of reinforcement, cementation and provision of drainage etc., Generally Lime
and cement are widely used to improve soft clays having high water content and compressibility
INTRODUCTION
For many decades, engineers and researchers have
attempted to solve problems posed by various types of soft
ground. Constructions on such grounds are generally
unstable due to low shear strength, substantial total and
differential settlement, excessive seepage and liquefaction.
Therefore, various methods of ground improvement have
been developed in order to improve such unfavourable
properties. The developed techniques are based on the
basic concepts of ground improvement which include the
effects of densification, cementation, reinforcement, and
drainage. Among many successful projects, it has been
reported that ground improvement method using cement
and lime is suitable to improve soft clayey ground having
high water content and high compressibility. The
techniques such as deep cement mixing method and soil
cement columns have become widely used recently.
Cement is commonly used as a cementing agent. The
resistance to compression and consequent strength
development of the cement and lime admixed clay
increases with curing time. The main objective of the
present paper is to analyse the strength development of the
cement admixed clay using the Wc/C as a prime parameter
to develop its generalized strength prediction equation. [1]
conducted studies on engineering behaviour of cement
treated soft clay. [1] observed that the water content of the
treated samples was lower than the untreated ones and the
unconfined compressive strength of the treated samples
increased. Cement content in the range of 10% to 20% was
found to be most effective in terms of hardening effect.
Recently the stabilization of soft soil is assuming great
importance. The effect of different stabilizing agents used
may be different for soft soils. For the effective application
of the stabilizing techniques in the field and to use proper
mix proportions, it is necessary to have a basic
understanding of the strength development in the form of
laboratory tests on soft clays admixed with stabilizing
agents. In this paper, it is intended to study the effect of
cement as stabilizing agent for stabilization at high water
contents and develop methods to predict the strength.
2.65
45
23.8
21.20
21.21
1.85
17.29
39.2
60.8
IS Classification
CI
Values
Sio2
Fe2o3
Al2o3
Cao
Mgo2
Others
pH
Specific surface
cat ion exchange capacity
organic matter
68.30%
6.20%
13.3%
3.10%
7.5%
1.6%
7.53
30m2/gm
49.35milli equivalence/100gm
1.86%
Preparation of Specimens
Researchers like [2],[3], [4] and [5] have studied the
behaviour of cement stabilized soft soils by conducting
laboratory experiments on cement stabilized soils at high
water content. In the present study soft soils were
artificially prepared in the laboratory by mixing locally
available soils with water, to form soils at high water
content. For this purpose, a split mould of cast iron of size
38mm x 80mm was designed and fabricated. The
specimens were prepared by placing the stabilizer treated
soils at high water content, in three equal layers into the
split mould and gently tapping it on a rubber pad to
remove the entrapped air. Since high water contents were
used in the present study enough care was taken to prevent
leakage of water from the split mould. The specimens
along with the split mould were kept in desiccators for
curing. After the specimens gained enough strength, they
were taken out of the split mould and once again kept in
desiccators for curing. The duration of keeping the
specimens along with the split mould depends on the type
of soil, initial water content, the type of stabilizer and the
stabilizer content.
The specimen of soil cement mixture was prepared by
initially mixing the oven dried clay soil of required
quantity, with necessary amount of water separately to
form a soil paste. When cement is added to the soil, it
absorbs water due to the hydration and the cement
consumes water equal to 40% of its mass [6]. This may
mask the role of high water content used in the present
study. Hence, the cement paste was prepared separately by
mixing cement with water equal to 0.4 times the mass of
cement. Finally, both the soil paste and the cement paste
were mixed thoroughly and put into the split mould. The
specimens along with the split mould were kept in
desiccators for curing. After the specimens gained enough
strength, they were taken out of the split mould and once
again kept in desiccators for curing. The duration of
keeping the specimens in split mould depends on the type
of soil, initial water content and cement content.
Moulding water content of 1, 1.5, 2 times of liquid limit
was chosen for the present study and the cement content
was varied over a wide range as detailed in Table 3.
Consolidation test
One dimensional consolidation tests were performed using
fixed ring consolidometers, 3% cement was mixed with
cement to stabilize the soil. Analysis was carried out by
relating the effects of 3% cement addition to the base clay.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Unconfined compressive Strength
Figures 1 and 2 show the variation of unconfined
compressive strength versus cement content for curing
periods of 7 and 28 days for initial water contents of 1LL,
1.5LL and 2LL. The optimum cement contents are 4.5%,
6.75% and 9% for strength gain for initial water content of
1LL, 1.5LL and 2LL respectively.
1LL
1.5LL
2LL
Cement
Content
(%)
2.25
3
4.5
9
3.38
36.09
98.52
188.56
221.2
4.5
6.75
51.55
153.91
115.36
327.68
189.89
684.96
286.56
901.65
13.5
271.65
412.72
609.93
980.12
4.5
6
9
28.67
41.24
151.2
68.52
110.32
320.75
135.96
172.16
496.38
199.47
231.98
855.59
18
252.55
391.54
585.62
959.9
Only Clay
Clay (3%
cement)
without
curing
Clay(3%
cement &
cured for
14 days
e
Change
in void
ratio
0.455
0.86
1.156
0.107
0.09
Cc
Compression
index
Cv
Coefficient of
consolidation
OMC
1 LL
2.0 LL
OMC
1 LL
0.214
0.3800
0.3900
0.080
0.0893
0.0660
0.0550
0.04545
0.06604
0.08803
2.0 LL
0.0944
0.07701
0.07
OMC
1 LL
0.062
0.072
0.0510
0.07215
0.11
0.363
2.0 LL
0.056
0.0613
0.069
Wc/C
Ratio
1LL
1.5LL
1LL
1.5LL
Cement
Content
(%)
20
15
20
15
10
2.25
3
3.38
4.5
4.5
10
5
6.75
13.5
qD/q28
7
DAYS
0.27
0.40
0.17
0.25
14
DAYS
0.58
0.76
0.47
0.56
28
DAYS
0.96
1.00
0.81
0.89
56
DAYS
1.29
1.21
1.06
1.36
0.37
0.65
0.93
1.14
0.51
0.26
0.77
0.51
1.00
0.76
1.30
1.02
0.32
0.60
1.05
1.16
CONCLUSIONS
1. Based on the results of this study, it could be
concluded that strength of the stabilized soil
significantly increases when mixed with cement.
2. For the cement stabilization of soft clay in which its
water content varies in the range of liquidity index of
1 and 2 the Wc/C is the prime parameter governing
the strength.
3. It was also found that the strength hardening effect of
the stabilized clay was substantially influenced by the
cement content.
4. The results indicate that the compression index (Cc)
greatly reduces with cement stabilization.
5. Prediction on strength could be accomplished using
the proposed correlations with the predetermined
cement content.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Fig 6 Anaysis
using Wc/C.
ABSTRACT: Traffic of NH-71 and two State Highways is plying on a diversion road of length 4.2 km causing heavy traffic
in the Jhajhar district, state of Haryana. A canal is flowing parallel to the road and saturating the sub grade layer by capillary
rise. As a result, diversion road is frequently getting damaged. To rectify the problem, it was decided that the height of
embankment may be raised and a capillary cutoff layer may be provided. For this, locally available materials commonly
known as Tibba sand, granular material-I passing 13.2 mm and granular material-II passing 4.75 mm were investigated for the
construction of embankment, sub grade and capillary cutoff. In this paper, results of geotechnical characteristics of these
materials were given. Suitability of these materials for the construction of embankment, sub grade and capillary cutoff are
presented. It was observed that Tibba sand may be used for the construction of embankment and a mix of Tibba sand and
suitable soil for sub grade construction. Both granular materials did not satisfy the required filter/drainage specifications for
capillary cutoff. However, these materials may be used as a capillary cut off with a geotextile layer. .
INTRODUCTION
Traffic of NH-71 was diverted on a diversion road of length
4.2 km in the district of Jhajaar, Haryana. The traffic of two
State Highways namely Jhajjar- Jahazgarh- Dadri road and
Jhajjar- Subana -Kosli are also plying on this diversion road
causing heavy traffic. A canal is flowing parallel to the road.
The diversion road is observed to be frequently getting
damaged under heavy traffic and saturated sub grade. To
asses this problem and to provide a suitable solution, it was
decided that the height of embankment may be raised with
local available materials and then to provide a suitable
capillary cutoff layer. For this, three locally available
materials were collected and geotechnical investigation was
carried out. Suitability of these materials in the construction
of embankment, sub grade and capillary cut off were
investigated. The paper discusses the results of geotechnical
characteristic, capillary rise estimation with or without
capillary cut off, and thickness with filter efficiency of local
available material
MATERIALS
The Tibba sand which is locally available natural sand was
collected from district Jhajjar, Haryana, The granular
materials-I (G-I) & II (G-II) were collected from nearby
quarry. Figures 1 & 2 show the pictorial view of Tibba sand,
G-I & G-II respectively,
Tibba sand
G-I
G-II
Percentage finer, %
80
60
40
20
0
0.01
0.1
10
Sieve size, mm
2.3
Height of Capillary
rise, mm
430
6
13
4.75
1.652
1.0
t (mm)
13
43
32
66.7
26.7
The results indicate that both G-I &G-II did not satisfy the
above filter criteria. Hence there is possibility of migration of
Tibba sand particles into the capillary cutoff layer from either
side. This leads to chocking of voids of granular materials
which may further reduce the drainage capacity of the
capillary cutoff. As the capillary rise in both G-I & G-II is in
the range of 6-13 mm, geotextile layer may be laid only
above the both materials as shown in Fig 3. The specification
of geotextile is given in Table 4 as per IRC 34[6].
Table 4 Specification of Geotextile
S. No. Properties
1
2
3
4
Specification
0.15 mm
410 g/m2
8 kN/m
100 l/m2.s
HFL/GL
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are thankful to Director, Central Road Research
Institute, New Delhi for kind permission to publish this
research paper.
REFERENCES
1. IS 2720-Part 4 (1985), Methods of test for soils: Part 4
Grain size analysis, Published by Bureau of Indian
standard, New Delhi, India.
2. IS 1498(1970), Classification and identification of soils
for general engineering purposes, Published by Bureau
of Indian standard, New Delhi, India.
3. IS 2720-Part 8 (1983), Methods of test for soils: Part 8.
Determination of water content- dry density relation
using heavy compaction, Published by Bureau of Indian
standard, New Delhi, India.
4. IS 2720-Part 16(1979), Methods of test for soils: Part
16, Laboratory determination of CBR, Published by
Bureau of Indian standard, New Delhi, India.
5. IS 2720-Part 36(1987), Methods of test for soils: Part
36, Laboratory determination of permeability of
granular soils (constant head), Published by Bureau of
Indian standard, New Delhi, India.
6. IRC:34 (2011), Recommendations for road construction
in areas affected by water logging, flooding and/or Salt
Infestation (First Revision), Published by Indian Road
Congress.
7. IRC: SP 58 (2001), Guidelines for use of fly ash in road
construction, Published by Ministry of Road and
Highway Transport, New Delhi, India.
8. MORTH (2001), Specifications for road and bridge
works, Published by Ministry of Road and Highway
Transport, New Delhi, India.
9. Henry, K.S (1995), The Use of Geosynthetics Capillary
Barriers to reduce moisture migration in soils,
International Journal of Geosynthetics, Vol.-.2 (5), 883888.
ABSTRACT: In the present study, axisymmetric numerical analysis has been performed using finite element software
PLAXIS 2D on end bearing stone columns without and with geogrid encasements. Axial stiffness and length of encasement is
varied in order to analyze their effects on the behaviour of reinforced soft clay foundation. Results indicate improved load
carrying capacity with increase in the length of encasement. It is also observed that increase in the stiffness of the encasement
enhances the behaviour of the encased stone column.
INTRODUCTION
Encased stone column is an excellent soft ground
improvement technique as it helps the soil to achieve
sufficient bearing capacity in consequence with increased rate
of drainage so that constructions can be executed over it in
short time duration. The problem with ordinary stone column
(OSC) is that it fails by bulging due to insufficient lateral
confinement from the surrounding soft soil. Encasing the
stone columns with suitable geosynthetics material
accomplishes the necessity of lateral confinement and
prevents bulging of stones. Various investigators performed
finite element analysis as well as laboratory investigations to
hunt for the efficacy of encased stone columns. The
reinforcing effect of a stone column in soil was investigated
to derive the ultimate load carrying capacity of ordinary stone
column [1]. The ultimate load carrying capacity of encased
stone column was derived [2] and later modified [3] keeping
in view that stone columns failed by bulging before the stress
in the geosynthetic material had reached its failure point.
Parametric study on encapsulated stone column using the
finite element program GEOFEM was carried out extensively
[4] as well as model tests were conducted on single and group
of stone columns without and with different geosynthetic
encasements to investigate the effect of encasements on stone
columns of different diameters [5,6]. More robust
encasements made of uni-axial and bi-axial geogrid of higher
strength were also used for model studies [7]. Finite element
software Abaqus (2006) was extensively used by many
authors to model the encased granular columns with different
approaches [8]. The optimum length of encasement was
found as a function of the stress applied [9]. Analytical study
on non-encased and encased stone columns was carried out
by some authors considering the column as an elasto-plastic
material, soil as an elastic material and geosynthetic
encasement as a linear-elastic material as well as very good
agreement with elasto-plastic finite element analyses was
achieved [10].
In the present study, finite element analysis has been carried
out using PLAXIS 2D [11] on end bearing encased stone
columns by varying the length and stiffness of the
encasement to find out the efficacy of encased stone column
installed in very soft clay.
Behaviour of Extremely Soft Soil Reinforced with Stone Column without and with Encasement
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
REFERENCES
1. Hughes J.M.O. and Withers N.J. (1974), Reinforcing of
soft cohesive soils with stone columns, Ground
Engineering, 1 (3), 4249.
2. Briaud, J.L. (1991), The pressuremeter: some special
applications, Proce. of the Geotechnical Engineering
Congress, Boulder, CO, ASCE, Geotechnical Special
Publication, 27, 2637.
3. Ayadat, T and Hanna, A.M. (2005), Encapsulated stone
columns as a soil improvement technique for collapsible
soil, Ground Improvement, 9 (4), 137147.
4. Murugesan, S. and Rajagopal, K. (2006), Geosyntheticencased stone columns: numerical evaluation,
Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 24, 349-358.
5. Murugesan, S. and Rajgopal, K. (2010), Studies on the
behaviour of single and group of geosynthetic encased
stone columns, Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 129-138.
6.
INTRODUCTION
Reinforced soil technique has become one of the main fast
growing technique. Today, many waste materials such as
rubber tire shreds, high density polyethylene (HDPE) strips,
polyethylene fibers, jute fibre, have been used in reinforced
soil technique. So, there has been a growing interest in recent
years in evaluating the potential use of recycled materials in
civil engineering construction.Today tires are one of the
aspects for reinforcing soil. Rao and Dutta (2006) reported
112 million discarded tires in India per year. Disposal of used
tires in landfills and stockpiles increases the risk of accidental
fires and improper storage of used tire poses direct threat to
public health.So, it is essential to find beneficial ways of
recycling or reusing tires. Rubber tire is a thermoplastic
material predominantly composed of monomers.It is elastic,
ductile & possesses energy dissipation properties. Tire shreds
have various shapes and sizes typically varying between 50 &
300 mm. There are several advantages of tire shreds in civil
engineering application. Tatlisoz et al (1997) evaluated
mechanical properties and behavior of waste tire chips and
mixtures with fine and coarse grained soils. Results of the
tests showed that tire chips and soil tire chips mixtures
behave like soil but are more compressible and also require
more deformation to mobilize their ultimate shear strength.
Several investigations have been carried out to study the
possibilities of using waste tire chips in civil engineering
applications, such as in constructing roads (Bosscher et al.
1997; Nightingale and Green 1997; Heimdahl and Druscher
1999), in controlling ground erosion (Poh and Broms 1995),
in stabilizing slopes (Poh and Broms 1995; OShaughnessy
and Garga 2000a),as a lightweight material for backfilling in
retaining structures (Bosscher et al.1997; Sumanarathna et
al. 1997; Tatlisoz et al. 1997; Allman and Simundic 1998;
Lee et al. 1999; Garga and OShaughnessy 2000;
OShaughnessy and Garga 2000a), as aggregates in leach
beds of landfills (Hall 1991; Ahmed and Lovell 1992; Park et
al.1993).
SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE:
Present study is carried out to investigate pressure settlement
behavior of sand foundation mixed with wasted tire shreds
Dr.N.H.Joshi, Associate. Professor,M.S.U Baroda, Rachna J. Shah ,P.G student ,M.S.U, Baroda
Specific
value
2.64
1.78
1.49
0
6.9
74.1
19
2.22
1.14
35
0
Geo technical properties of sand reinforced with randomly distributed tire shreds
Fig.5 BCR v/s aspect ratio of tire shreds for reinforced soil
for reinforced soil
and
Dr.N.H.Joshi, Associate. Professor,M.S.U Baroda, Rachna J. Shah ,P.G student ,M.S.U, Baroda
DISCUSSION
Fig 3&4 shows that bearing capacity has been increased as
increase of tire shreds, up to optimum value after that it has
been decreased. Max UBC is found at 30%, which is
optimum value. It is about 221.43 % compared to
unreinforced sand .From and Fig 5. We concluded that max
BCR have been observed at aspect ratio of 2 and minimum at
4.Fig 6 shows that Curves are linearly and also slightly
concave upward in nature. Max BCR is at 10% of tire shreds,
which is 2.14. Fig 7 shows that SRF is maximum at 10% tire
shreds by volume of sand, it is 69.56%.Fig 8 shows
relationship of Bearing pressure v/s settlement for evaluation
of Modulus of subgrade reaction, For unreinforced sand, it
was obtained 84,000kN/m3.Fig 9 shows comparison of K
value.It is clearly seen that k value is maximum of shred size
2x4x1 with 10% tire shreds by volume of sand. Fig 10 shows
Bearing Pressure v/s elastic settlement relationship. Fig. 11
shows the graph of elastic uniform compression (Cu) v/s
different % of tire shreds with different size of shreds. Graph
shows that value of (Cu) is maximum at tire shred of size
2x2x1 cm with 10% tire shreds by volume of sand. It is 2,
87,950 kN/m3, but it is less than unreinforced sand.cu is
decreases by adding % of tire shreds.
CONCLUSION
As the % of tire shreds increases, ultimate bearing capacity
also increases at some specific value (optimum value), after
further increasing tire shreds, it decreases. Ultimate Bearing
Capacity (UBC) have been obtained maximum at rubber
shred of size 2x4x1 cm with 30% of tire shreds, gives
271.43% improvement in bearing capacity.
As the optimum mixing ratio depends on shape and size of
tire shreds.
For a constant width of tire shred i.e 2 cm , maximum BCR
have been obtained at aspect ratio 2 and 10 % content of tire
shreds and minimum obtained at aspect ratio 4, because of
the fact that further increase in length, greater than optimum
length decrease in area ratio, which is an important parameter
for reinforced soil behaviour.
From the BCR and settlement reduction factor (s/d) %, it
was concluded that, maximum BCR have been obtained at
6% of width of footing for rubber shred of size 2x4x1 cm and
at 10% of tire shreds.
Modulus of subgrade reaction (k) increases as further
increases tire shreds. It has been increased up to 195.23 %
than virgin soil at rubber shred size of 2x4x1 cm, with 10 %
of tire shreds, after that further increase of tire shreds, it has
been decreased.
Maximum SRF have been obtained at rubber shred of size
2x4x1 cm and at 10% of tire shreds.
The co-efficient of elastic uniform compression have been
obtained less compared to unreinforced sand. Therefore, in
seismically zones and structures likely to be subjected to
vibration, the tire reinforced soil to be cautiously and
judiciously used taking into consideration the decrease of cu.
REFERENCES
1. Keun Soo Kim, Yeo Won Yoon, and Gil Lim Yoon
(2010 )Pullout Behaviour of Cell-Type Tires in
Reinforced Soil Structures KSCE Journal of Civil
Engineering (2011) 15(7):1209-1217
2. S. Thenmozhi, V.K. Stalin (2010) Suitability Of
Geogrid Reinforced - Rubber Waste In Pavements
International Journal of Engineering Science and
Technology Vol. 2(10), 2010, 5462-5472.
3. Sungmin Yoon , Monica Prezzi , Nayyar Zia
Siddiki, Bumjoo Kim (2006 )Construction of a test
embankment using a sandtire shred mixture as fill
material .Waste Management 26 , 10331044.
4. N Hataf
and M.M.Rahimi (2006)Experimetal
investigation on bearing capacity of sand reinforced
with randomly distributed tire shreds construction
and building materials 20( 910-916)
5. Yeo Won Yoon, sung Han Cheon, Dae Seong Kang
(2004) Bearing capacity and settlement of tirereinforced sands Geotextile and Geomembranes
22(439-453)
6. Nilay Tatlisoz,l 'funcer B. Edil,2 and Craig H.
Benson,3 Members,(1998) ASCE
Interaction
Between Reinforcing Geosynthetics And Soil-Tire
Chip Mixtures Journal of Geotechnical and Geo
environmental Engineering, Vol. 124, No. 11,
7. Nainan P. Kurian/ K. S. Beena/ and R. Krishna
Kumar (1997) Settlement Of Reinforced Sand In
Foundations Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering,ASCE Vol. 123.
No.9.
8. Gary J. Foose/ Craig H. Benson/ and Peter J.
Bosscher,3 Members (1996) Sand Reinforced With
Shredded Waste Tires
ABSTRACT: Geotechnical investigations for a major power plant in Punjab indicated the likelihood of liquefaction of the
loose sands to about 7.5-11 m depth. To mitigate the liquefaction potential, ground improvement by vibro-compaction was
done for the light to medium-loaded facilities. Piles extending well below the liquefiable zone were used to support heavilyloaded facilities. The paper presents data and analysis for the Boiler-I area where ground improvement was successfully
carried out and raft foundations for the boiler were provided.
INTRODUCTION
A 540 MW capacity supercritical thermal power plant is
being constructed in the state of Punjab, along the banks of
the Beas River. The site covers an area of over 500 acres.
Various facilities planned include Power House, Boiler,
Cooling Tower, Chimney, ESP area, etc.
A vicinity map showing the location of the site is presented
on Fig. 1.
Project Site
Shear wave velocities (Vs) are less than 200-220 m/s to about
10 m depth and increase gradually with depth. Fig. 3 presents
plots of corrected SPT values, qc values and P & S-wave
velocities with depth.
Plots of corrected SPT values, qc and Vs with depth are
presented on Fig. 3.
Ground Improvement
Ground improvement was done by vibro-compaction. The
vibro-probe was inserted into the ground and penetrated to
about 10-12 m depth. A water jet was used to assist the
densification process. The depression formed by the
compaction process was filled with sand and compacted
using a 10 ton vibratory roller.
Fig. 5 presents a photograph of the vibro-compaction in
progress.
The test load for pile load test was worked out considering
the skin friction in the top 10 m so as to simulate the normal
condition. However, the safe load for design was restricted to
the values given in Table 1 so as to ensure that the piles are
safe during earthquake.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The construction of the heavily-loaded facilities of the mega
power plant was done after thorough evaluation of the
geotechnical data. Detailed analysis indicated the potential
for liquefaction. The ground improvement by vibrocompaction could successfully mitigate the liquefaction
potential and also ensure a high safe bearing capacity for
design of the structures. Piles were used in areas where the
loadings were very heavy.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to M/s. Punj Lloyd Ltd. and GVK
Power Ltd. for giving Cengrs Geotechnica Pvt. Ltd. an
opportunity to perform the geotechnical investigation as well
as tests before and after improvement.
REFERENCES
1. Krishnan, M. (2008), Geosynthetics Practices, 3rd Ed.,
Prentice Hall, New Delhi, India.
2. Youd, T.L., and Idriss, I.M., (2001), Liquefaction
Resistance of Soils: Summary Report from the 1996
NCEER and 1998 NCEER/NSF Workshops on
Evaluation of Liquefaction Resistance of Soils, Jl of
Geotech and Geoenv Engineering, April 2001, pp. 297313.
2.70
1
20
79
Plasticity Characteristics
a) Liquid Limit (%)
b) Plastic Limit (%)
c) Plasticity Index (%)
68
33
35
IS Classification
CH
80
25.8
1.55
Shear Parameters
a) Cohesion (kN.m2)
b) Angle of Internal Friction
26
90
2.0
Where,
h is the design pavement thickness in cm
C is anticipated number of vehicle passes
in terms of standard axles.
P is Equivalent Single Wheel Load in kg.
A is Contact area in cm2
For calculation of design pavement thickness, 30 million
standard axles were considered as vehicular traffic and a
standard axle load of 10.2 t with dual wheel configuration
and a tyre contact pressure of 5.62 kg/cm2 has been taken.
The value of design pavement thickness has been worked to
be 760 mm. The value is less in comparison to the value
obtained from SBC concept, which means that the pavement
will have risk for undergoing shear failure if designed is
based on CBR method only.
P
+ av.h = qs
(B + 2h tan)(Le + 2h tan)
.. (1)
T=
. (3)
The stain induced in fabric has been worked out using the
equation 4 given below.
2s
=
100
B + 2hR tan
. (4)
Test Track Studies on Reinforced Flexible Pavement over Expansive Clay Subgrade
T
(kN/m)
q
(kN/m2)
(%)
s=10
mm
S=15
mm
s=20
mm
s=25
mm
50
80.02
13.62
2.05
3.07
4.09
5.12
60
68.52
8.82
1.85
2.78
3.70
4.60
70
60.53
4.52
1.69
2.54
3.39
4.20
80
55.38
1.75
1.57
2.35
3.13
3.92
Swell
controlled by
Geotextile (%)
Upward swell
pressure on
fabric (p)
T
(kN/m)
(%)
10
15
20
27
21.5
16
24.3
19.4
14.6
21
16.5
12.4
1.2
1.7
2.3
1.7m
WMM Layer
0.4m
P1
P2
P2
P1
P1
WBM Base
P3
P3
[{
+b Cae + p3 tan e
0.2m
1.6m
0.2m
1.6m
0.2m
----------- (5)
} + {Ca
+ p3 tan m
} .(7)
Where,
p1 = Percentage swell controlled in central portion x swell
pressure (ps)
p 2 = Percentage swell controlled in edge region x ps
}]
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of study the following conclusions
have been drawn.
1.
2.
3.
4.
References:
1. Katti, R.K. (1979): Search for Solutions to Problems
in Black Cotton Soils, First IGS Annual Lecture,
Indian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 9, pp 1-80.
2. Leonard, D.R.et al (1974): Loads and Vibrations
caused by 8 commercial vehicles with Gross Weights
Exceeding 32 tons, TRRl Report No.582.
3. M.O.R.T.H. (2001): Specifications for Roads and
Bridge works, Ministry of Road Transportation and
Highways.
4. Natarajan, T.K.and Shanmukha Rao, E. (1979):
Practical Lessons on Road Construction in Black
Cotton Soil Areas, Journal of Indian road congress,
Vol. 40, No. 1, pp 153-185.
5. Prakash, S. (1981): Soil Dynamics, Mc Graw Hill
Book Co. New York.
6. Steinberg, M.L (1992), Vertical Moisture Barriers
Update, Transportation Research Record No. 1362,
HRB, Washington, pp 111-117.
7. US Army Corps of Engineers (1961): Revised
Method of Thickness Design of Flexible Highway
Pavements at Military Installations, Technical
Report No. 3-582, waterways Experimental Station.
8. Satyanarayana Reddy, C.N.V and Rama Moorthy,
N.V (2005) Significance of bearing capacity of
clayey subgrade in flexible pavement design
International Journal of Pavement Engineering 6(3),
pp 183-189.
9. Satyanarayana Reddy, C.N.V and K. Chinnapa Reddy
Reinforced Flexible Pavement Design over
Expansive Clay Subgrade Vol. 41, No. 2, April 2011.
pp 86-91.
Computer Output
Control Unit
Tx
Rx
ce
dP
ulse
ed
lect
Ref
Pu
lse
Data and
Commands
Laptop Computer
Monitor
Pu
lse
Indu
Receiver
d=
d
itte
sm
an
Tr
Re
fle
cted
Transmitter
Data
t c
(4)
e
uls
P
BED ROCK
E1 =
Er
(2n 2 + n 1 )
= (
n 2 n1
n 2 + n1
E - - - - (1)
) E - - - - (2)
&
; is relative permittivity.
(3)
13/410
13/285
12/962
12/825
Subsidence
zone S1
Subsidence
zone S7
CONCLUSIONS
GPR survey was conducted along and across the
tunnel alignment in the central portion between RD
12/741 km and 13/450 km to investigate the
uppermost 20 m of the strata. A 100 MHz antenna
was deployed for the purpose. GPR records obtained
along some of the traverses revealed anomalies in the
form of hyperbolic signatures and these were
interpreted as subsidence zones prone to caving. In
all, 10 subsidence zones prone to caving were
detected and the approximate width of these zones
varied from 5 m to 14 m and their depth from 1.5 m
to 19 m. The results would help effect necessary
remedial measures to treat the subsidence zones to
ensure safety of the tunnel.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are grateful to Dr. I.D. Gupta, Director,
CWPRS for constant encouragement and for
permission to publish the paper. The author is also
grateful to Shri S. Govindan for his encouragement.
The paper is based on the data from CWPRS
Technical Report no.4762.
REFERENCES
1. Gosar Andrej (2011), Analysis of the capabilities
of low frequency ground penetrating radar for
cavities detection in rough terrain conditions: the
case of divaa cave, slovenia, Acta carsologica
41/1, 7788, postojna 2012, 75-88.
2. Abdelhady Y.E,, Hanafy S.M, Morsy, E.A, and
Mesbah H.S (2004), combined geophysical
techniques for cavity detection, EGS Journal,
vol. 2, No. 1, 147-151 (Journal of Egyptian
Geophysical Society)
3. Benson, A.K (1995), Application of ground
penetrating radar in assessing some geological
hazards:
examples
of
groundwater
contamination, faults, cavities.- J. of Applied
Geophysics, 33, 177193.
4. Mochales, T, Casas, A. M., Pueyo, E. L., Pueyo,
O, Roman, M.T., Pocovi, A., Soriano M.A. and
Anson, D (2008), Detection of underground
cavities by combining gravity, magnetic and
ground penetrating radar surveys: a case study
from the Zaragoza area, NE Spain, Environ Geol
53:10671077
5. Sharma, P.V (1997), Environmental and
engineering geophysics.- Cambridge University
Press, pp. 475, Cambridge.
6. Wadhwa, R.S, Ghosh, N, Chaudhari, M.S.,
Chandrashekhar, V and Rajib K Sinharay
(2008), Delineation of cavities in a canal bed by
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