29-10-2014

GROUND IMPROVEMENT
TECHNIQUES

APPLICATION OF
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Significance

PreloadingandDrains

Whenhighlycompressible,normallyconsolidatedclayeysoillayers
existatlimited/largedepths,largeconsolidationsettlementsare
expectedastheresultoftheloadsfromlargebuildings,highway
embankments,orearthdamsetc.
Precompressionandprovisionofverticaldrainsinsoftsoilmaybe
usedtominimizepostconstructionsettlement.
Thistechniqueisapplicableto
poorlydrainingsoil(finegrained
soil)suchasplasticsiltsandsoft
clays

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

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Methods
Precompression
Sanddrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains
Vaccum consolidation
Electroosmosisconsolidation

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains

PreloadingandDrains
Precompression
Preloadcanbeofasoilitselforanysuitable
material.Itisgenerallycarriedoutinstages
toallowgradualdissipationofpore
pressureandhencegradualincreaseinsoil
strengthenablingittosafelysupport
furtherstageofpreload.
ThetotalsettlementofSc(p)willoccurattime
t2,whichismuchshorterthant1.
Hence,ifatemporarysurchargeof(p)+
(f)isappliedonthegroundsurfacefortime
t2,thesettlementwillbeequaltoSc(p).

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Themaximumprimaryconsolidation
settlementcausedbythestructuralload

Precompression

Ifasurchargeofisplaced
ontheground,theprimaryconsolidation
settlementwillbe

Thedegreeofconsolidationattimet2
aftertheapplicationoftheloadis

ThedegreeofconsolidationU referredinthe
equationisactuallytheaveragedegreeof
consolidationattimet2

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Atthattime,ifthesurchargeisremovedanda
structurewithapermanentloadperunitarea
(p)isbuiltandnoappreciablesettlement
willoccur.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Precompression
Theactualmeasuredsettlement
inthefieldmaynotbesameas
computedbyassumingaverage
degreeofconsolidationbecause
aftertheremovalofthe
surchargeandplacementofthe
structural load, the portion of
structuralload,theportionof
clayclosetothedrainagesurface
willcontinuetoswell,andthe
soilclosetothemidplanewill
continuetosettle.Insomecases,
netcontinuoussettlementmight
result.
Aconservativeapproachwillbe
toassumeUintheequationas
themidplanedegreeof
consolidationinplaceofaverage
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Dr.
degreeofconsolidation.

Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Precompression
PlotofUagainst

PreloadingandDrains
Plotofmidplane
degreeof
consolidation
againstTv

Precompression
ProcedureforObtainingPrecompression Parameters
Twoproblemsmaybeencounteredbyengineersduringprecompression workinthefield:
Thevalueoff isknown,butt2 mustbeobtained.
Insuchacase,obtaino,p,andsolveforU,usingEquationorchart
(Uagainst).
ForthisvalueofU,obtainTv fromplot(Uvs Tv).Then
Foraspecifiedvalueoft2,f mustbeobtained.
Insuchacase,calculateTv,
Usetheplot(Uvs Tv)toobtainthemidplanedegreeofconsolidation,U.
WiththeestimatedvalueofU,gettherequiredvalueoffromtheplot
andthencalculatef

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains
Precompression

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Precompression

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

Sanddrains
Theeffectivezonefromwhichtheradial
drainagewillbedirectedtowardagivensand
drainisapproximatelycylindrical,witha
diameterofde.

Thesanddrainsareusedtoacceleratethe
consolidationsettlementofsoft,normally
consolidatedclaylayersandachievepre
compressionbeforetheconstructionofa
desiredfoundation.
Sanddrainsareconstructedbydrillingholes
through the clay layer(s) in the field at regular
throughtheclaylayer(s)inthefieldatregular
intervals.Theholesarethenbackfilledwith
sand.
Afterbackfillingthedrillholeswithsand,a
surchargeisappliedatthegroundsurface.
Thesurchargewillincreasetheporewater
pressure intheclay.
Theexcessporewaterpressureintheclaywill
bedissipatedbydrainagebothverticallyand
radially tothesanddrainsthereby
acceleratingsettlementoftheclaylayer.

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains

Todeterminethesurchargethatneedstobe
appliedatthegroundsurfaceandthelengthof
time that it has to be maintained use the pre
timethatithastobemaintained,usethepre
compressionchartsandequations.
Sanddrainscanbemadeusing:
rotarydrillingandthenbackfilling
withsand
drillingbycontinuousflightauger
withahollowstemandbackfilling
withsandand
drivinghollowsteelpiles.

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Bothradialandverticaldrainagecontributeto
theaveragedegreeofconsolidation.

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Ur andUv arethedegreeofconsolidationwithradial
drainageonlyandverticaldrainageonlyrespectively

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly
Itisalsoimportanttorealizethat,
duringtheinstallationofsanddrains,a
certainzoneofclaysurroundingthem
issmeared,therebychangingthe
hydraulicconductivityoftheclay.

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly
Whentheentiresurchargeisappliedinstantaneously
Consideringsmearzone

Consideringnosmearcase

Theaveragedegreeofconsolidation
relationshipcanbederivedfromthe
theoryofequalstrain.
Twocasesmayarisethatrelatetothe
natureoftheapplicationofsurcharge
theentiresurchargeisapplied
instantaneously or
thesurchargeisappliedintheformofa
rampload

CE451A

Dr.

rw =radiusofthesanddrainand
re =de/2istheradiusoftheeffectivezone
ofdrainage.
rs =radialdistancefromthecenterofthe
sanddraintothefarthestpointofthe
Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy,
IIT Kanpur
smearedzone.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly

Whenthesurchargeisappliedintheformofaramp
Consideringnosmearzone

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

Sanddrains

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoverticaldrainageonly
Whentheentiresurchargeisappliedinstantaneously

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoverticaldrainageonly
Whenthesurchargeisappliedintheformofaramp

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Sanddrains

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)

Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoverticaldrainageonly
Whenthesurchargeisappliedintheformofaramp

Alargeamountofconsolidationisusually
experiencedinswampdeposits,henceextremely
flexibleverticaldrainsshouldbeused.Inadditionto
flexibility,continualfunctioningofvertcal drainsis
veryimportant.
Problemsofconventionalsanddrains:mixing,
clogging,installationdisturbance.
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVDs)alsoreferredto
aswickorstripdrainsarecommonlyusedbecause
ofitseasyprefabrication,easyqualitycontrol,
economyandsmalldisturbancetothesurrounding
soilduringinstallation.
ThemainadvantageofPVDs oversanddrainsisthat
theydonotrequiredrilling;thus,installationis
muchfaster.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)

PVDs consistofaflatorcylindricalplasticcentral
core,whosefunctionisprimarilytoactasafree
drainagechannel,wrappedinageosyntheticfabric
(nonwovenfilterjacket),whichpreventsthesoil
surroundingthedrainfromenteringthecentral
corebutallowswatertoflow,therebyallowing
water to drain up through the centre of the drain
watertodrainupthroughthecentreofthedrain.
CharacteristicsofPVD:
Abilitytopermitporewaterinthesoiltoseepinto
thedrain.
Ameansbywhichthecollectedporewatercanbe
transmittedalongthelengthofthedrain.
Theplasticcoreservestwovitalfunctions,namely:
tosupportthefilterjacketandtoprovide
longitudinalflowpathsalongdrainevenatlarge
lateralpressure.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)
Foragivensurchargeand
durationt2,theaveragedegree
ofconsolidationduetodrainage
intheverticalandradial
directionsis

Cofra

Techfab

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)
Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly
Thetheoryofconsolidationwithradialdrainageassumesthat
thesoilisdrainedbyaverticaldrainwithcircularcross
section.TheequivalentdiameterofaprefabricatedPVC
drain(dw)isdefinedasthediameterofacirculardrainwhich
hasthesametheoreticalradialdrainageperformanceasthe
prefabricatedPVCdrain.
f bi
d PVC d i
Hansboexpressionfordw:

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)
Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly
PVDs areusuallyplacedinasquare/
triangularconfiguration,thepatternsize
i.e.diameteroftheeffectivezoneof
drainage(de orDs)beingconvertedinto
theequivalentdrainagespacing(dorD)
q
g p
g(
)
determinedfromthediameterofthe
groundcylindersaroundadrain.
Choosingadrainspacingisamajor
designparameter
Therelationshipbetweend andde isas
follows:
d=1.13xde forasquarepattern
d=1.05xde foratriangularpattern

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)
Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly
Whentheentiresurchargeis
appliedinstantaneously

PreloadingandDrains
Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)
Procedureforobtainingaveragedegreeofconsolidationduetoradialdrainageonly
Whentheentiresurchargeisappliedinstantaneously
Followingtablesand
chartscanbeusedto
estimateandTr

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains
Casestudy(PVD)

Prefabricatedverticaldrains(PVD)

Plotofversusn:(a)S=2,(b)S=3

Procedureforthedesignofprefabricatedvertical
drains:
Determinetimet2 availablefortheconsolidation
processandtheUvr required
DetermineUv attime t2 duetoverticaldrainage.
ForthePVDthatistobeused,calculatedw
Determine (Tr))11 (fromTableorequation)
Determine(Tr
(from Table or equation)
DetermineTr
Determine
Determinen(chartvs nvs kh /ks,S)
Determinede =ndw
Choosethedrainspacing(d)byknowingthepattern

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains

PreloadingandDrains

VacuumConsolidation
Thesteadilyincreasingdirect
andindirectcostsofplacing
andremovingsurchargefill
andtheadventoftechnology
forsealinglandfillswith
imperviousmembranesfor
landfill gas extraction systems
landfillgasextractionsystems
havenowmadevacuum
consolidationaneconomically
viablemethodasa
replacementforor
supplementtosurchargefill.
Vacuumconsolidationisan
effectivemeansfor
acceleratingtheimprovement
ofsaturatedsoftsoils.

CE451A

VacuumConsolidation

Thesoilsiteiscoveredwithanairtightmembraneand
avacuumiscreatedunderneathitbyusingadual
Venturiandvacuumpump.
Thetechnologycanprovideanequivalentpreloading
ofabout4.5mhighascomparedwithaconventional
surchargingfill.

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Anair/waterpumpingsystemisinstalledandcreatesavacuuminthesoilbelowthe
imperviousmembraneequivalenttoadepressionofbetween6080KPa,dependingonthe
globalefficiencyofthesystem.
Thispressureisequivalenttothatexertedbya34mhighsurchargeembankment.This
preloadingthroughtheapplicationofanatmosphericpressurecreatesanisotropic
acceleratedconsolidationofthecompressiblesoils.Settlementisthenachievedwithouta
CE451A
Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur
surchargeload,inagreatlyreducedtime,thanisnormal.

PreloadingandDrains
VacuumConsolidation

PreloadingandDrains
Cofra

VacuumConsolidation

Whiletheareaisundervacuumconsolidation,normally46months,
noactivitythatcanpuncturethemembraneisallowedonthevacuum
areawithoutproperprotection.Howeverheavyplantandfillingcan
usuallyproceedintheadjacentareas.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Amonitoringsystemisusuallyinstalledandoperatedduringthe
consolidationperiodtorecordsettlement,displacement&pressures.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

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PreloadingandDrains

PreloadingandDrains

Electroosmosisconsolidation

Electroosmosisconsolidation

Vacuumpreloadingisthemostpopulartechniquefor
consolidatinghydraulicfilledareas.However,dueto
extremelylowhydraulicpermeabilityoffinegrained
materials,thevacuumpreloadingconsolidationis
tooslowanditseffectisverypoorfordeep
hydraulicfilledsoftground.

Whenanelectricalpotentialdifferenceisapplied
acrossasoilmass,cations andanionsareattracted
tothecathodeandanoderespectively,whereas
neutralparticlesareattractedtoneither.

Electroosmoticconsolidation(Electrokinetic
stabilisation)canbeanalternativesolutionforsoft
groundimprovement.Electroosmoticconsolidation
ismuchquickerthanpreloadingmethod.However,
corrosionofelectrodeandrelativelyhighelectrical
energyconsumptionaretwoaspectsthatrestrain
itsapplication.

Withinasoilmasstheseionsaretobefoundinthe
porewaterexistingbetweensoilparticles.The
movementofionswithintheporewatercausesa
transferofmomentumtotheporewater.

Thisforcedmigrationoccursmostreadilybytheions
withthegreatestmobility.

Thecorrespondingdirectionandrateofporewater
movement aredeterminedbythenettransferof
momentumbybothcations andanionswithinthe
porewater.

Thedevelopmentofelectrokineticgeosynthetic
materials(EKG)eliminatestheseproblems.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

PreloadingandDrains

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

PreloadingandDrains

Electroosmosisconsolidation

Electroosmosisconsolidation
Dampproof

CE451A

Becauseofthenatureofclay
formation,whichusuallyresultsin
significantlynegativelycharged
clayparticles,thepredominant
ionswithintheporefluidare
cationicandthewatertherefore
movesfromtheanodetothe
cathode.

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

EKGmaterialsaregeosyntheticswhichcanbeenhancedbyelectrokinetictechniquesfor
thetransportofwaterandchemicalspecieswithinfinegrainedlowpermeabilitysoils
andwastes,whichareotherwisedifficultorimpossibletodealwith.
TheEKGcantaketheformofasingle materialwhichiselectricallyconductive,ora
compositematerial,inwhichatleastoneelementiselectricallyconductive.
Asshowninthefigure,therearetwobumpsof6mmwideand2.5mmthickonbothsides
of the EKG. Two copper wires of 1 mm are embedded inside the bumps.
oftheEKG.Twocopperwiresof1mmareembeddedinsidethebumps.
Duringsoiltreatment,electroosmotic
flowisindependentofhydraulic
permeabilityandthedegreeof
negativeporewaterpressureor
suctionthatbuildsupisproportional
totheratioofthecoefficientsof
electroosmoticandhydraulic
permeabilities.Therefore,
electroosmosis ismosteffectiveinfine
grainedsoilssuchasclaysandsilts.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

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29-10-2014

PreloadingandDrains
Electroosmosisconsolidation
GeneralfeaturesofEKGtechnology
Activewaterflowthroughclays
Longterm(post EKtreatment)drainage
Longterm(postEKtreatment)reinforcement
Enhancedsoilreinforcementbond
Reductioninshrinkswellbehaviour
Rapidincreaseinundrainedshearstrength
Rapid increase in undrained shear strength
Permanentincreaseindrainedshearstrength
Improvementconditioningofclaymineralsby
electrokineticionmigration,whichachieves
muchhighertransportationratesthaneither
conventionalhydraulicorelectroosmoticflow
mechanisms

CE451A

BenefitsofEKGtechnology
Norequirementforlargeplant
Greatlyreducedaccessconsiderations
Noneedforlargevolumematerial
haulage
Requireminimallevelsofmanning
and supervision
andsupervision
Rapiddeployment
Reducedoverallprojecttime
Permitsuseofconventionally
unacceptablematerial
Lowertheenvironmentalfootprint
Reducedoverallprojectcosts

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

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