<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Mat foundations are most typically used in locations featuring weak soils such as soft clays and silts, particularly when building in demanding geotechnical conditions. Because of their poor engineering characteristics and significant difficulties associated with workability, these soils are often removed or avoided by excavating down to a specific depth. However, if thick layers are present, their removal becomes unpractical, costly, and creates inconvenience during construction. To overcome this issue, various reinforcement strategies can be adopted. In this study, the use of stone columns under mat foundations was investigated via numerical modeling. Two scenarios were compared: one in which stone columns were installed without any soil removal and another in which a layer of soft ground was removed and the foundation was installed without any ground treatment. Numerical results showed the clear beneficial effect of stone columns, which can significantly reduce settlements even in the presence of a thick deformable soil layer.</p>
</abstract>

Mat foundations are most typically used in locations featuring weak soils such as soft clays and silts, particularly when building in demanding geotechnical conditions. Because of their poor engineering characteristics and significant difficulties associated with workability, these soils are often removed or avoided by excavating down to a specific depth. However, if thick layers are present, their removal becomes unpractical, costly, and creates inconvenience during construction. To overcome this issue, various reinforcement strategies can be adopted. In this study, the use of stone columns under mat foundations was investigated via numerical modeling. Two scenarios were compared: one in which stone columns were installed without any soil removal and another in which a layer of soft ground was removed and the foundation was installed without any ground treatment. Numerical results showed the clear beneficial effect of stone columns, which can significantly reduce settlements even in the presence of a thick deformable soil layer.

Settlement Analysis of a Sandy Clay Soil Reinforced with Stone Columns

Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology

Wrocław University of Science and Technology

Institute of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics, Faculty of Science

Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Settlement Analysis of a Sandy Clay Soil Reinforced with Stone Columns"}

Mat foundations are most typically used in locations featuring weak soils such as soft clays and silts, particularly when building in demanding geotechnical...

Material properties	Symbol	Unit	Soft clay	Stone columns	Gravel filling
Initial void ratio	e_o	-	0.7	0.8	0.6
Unit weight	γ	kN/m³	16	22.5	18
Overconsolidation ratio	OCR	-	1	1	1
Lateral earth pressure coefficient at rest	K_o	-	1	0.2175	0.1473
Poisson's ratio	v	-	0.4	0.18	0.25
Stiffness modulus for unloading/reloading	E_ur	MPa	13.02	210	180
Stiffness modulus for primary loading	E₅₀	MPa	1.86	90	35
Oedometric modulus	E_oed	MPa	5.56	60	45
Power for stress-level dependency	m	-	0.5	0.6	0.6
Cohesion	c	kPa	40	4	7
Friction angle	∅	°	5	48	40
Dilation angle	ψ	°	0	18	10
Failure ratio	R_f	-	0.9	0.9	0.9
Layer thickness	z	m	30	10	1

Settlement Analysis of a Sandy Clay Soil Reinforced with Stone Columns

Article Category: Original Study

Publié en ligne: 06 nov. 2022

Pages: 333 - 342

Reçu: 22 avr. 2022

Accepté: 01 sept. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2022-0020

Mots clés
Stone column, Sandy clay soil, Excavation replacement method, Settlement, Hardening soil model

© 2022 Yada Tesfaye Boru et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Material properties used in the model.

Settlement Analysis of a Sandy Clay Soil Reinforced with Stone Columns

Article Category: Original Study

Publié en ligne: 06 nov. 2022

Pages: 333 - 342

Reçu: 22 avr. 2022

Accepté: 01 sept. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2022-0020

Mots clésStone column, Sandy clay soil, Excavation replacement method, Settlement, Hardening soil model

© 2022 Yada Tesfaye Boru et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Material properties used in the model.

Mots clés
Stone column, Sandy clay soil, Excavation replacement method, Settlement, Hardening soil model