Lecture 3

GROUND
IMPROVEMENT
 Module I
◼ Need for Ground Improvement
◼ Classification of ground modification
techniques
◼ Emerging trends in ground Improvement

Recap:
Classification of Ground Improvement techniques
Methods and techniques of Ground Improvement
Factors affecting the selection of techniques
Need for Soil Improvement

Soft Clay Liquefaction and

sinkhole formation
 Methods for Soil Improvement
Ground Ground Ground
Reinforcement Improvement Treatment

• Stone Columns • Surface • Soil Cement

• Soil Nails Compaction • Lime Admixtures
• Micropiles • Drainage/Surcharge • Flyash
• Jet Grouting • Electro-osmosis • Dewatering
• Ground Anchors • Compaction • Heating/Freezing
• Geosynthetics grouting • Vitrification
• Fibers • Blasting
• Lime Columns • Dynamic
• Vibro-Concrete Compaction
Column
• Mechanically
Stabilized Earth
• Biotechnical
 Benefits/Objectives of ground
improvement techniques
▪ Increase of strength
▪ Reduce distortion under stress (Increases
stress-strain modulus)
▪ Reduce compressibility (volume decreases
due to a reduction in air voids or water
content under loads)
Continued :

▪ Prevent detrimental physical or

chemical changes due to environmental
conditions (freezing / thawing, wetting
/ drying)
▪ Reduce susceptibility to liquefaction
▪ Reduce natural variability of borrow
materials and foundation soils
Jet grouted soilcrete Stone columns
columns
Nailing and Reinforced soil
Geosynthetic products
Fibers and reinforced earth
 Effect of fibers on strength response
1400
Red soil 0%
1200 fl =15 mm 0.50%
fd = 0.25mm 1.00%
σ3 =50 kPa 1.25%
1000
1.50%
D eviator stress(kP a)

2.00%
800 2.50%

600

400

200

0
0 5 10 Strain(%) 15 20 25
Effect of fibers on compressibility

0.7
red soil 0%
fl = 10mm 0.50%
fd = 0.25mm 1.0%
1.50%
0.6 2.00%
2.5%
void ratio

0.5

0.4

0.3
1 10 100 1000
log p(kPa)
Effect of fibers on swell response

7.0
Black cotton soil 0%
6.0 fl =15mm 0.50%
fd = 0.25mm 1.00%
5.0 1.50%
Swell (%)

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0
1 10 100 1000 10000
Time (minutes)
Effect of fibers on piping resistance

0.25
Red soil
fl = 50 mm
0.20
Seepage velocity (cm/sec)

0.15

0.10
0%
0.25%
0.05 0.50%
0.75%
1.00%
0.00
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Hydraulic gradient
 Trends Today

▪ Environmental Geotechnics and solid

waste management using ground
improvement techniques
▪ Containment and constructive use of
waste materials
▪ Low-cost technologies with soil and
additives
▪ Geosynthetics
▪ Biotechnical stabilization
 Catalysts and accelerators

▪ Development of new machinery, particularly

for deep compaction
▪ Availability of new construction materials
such as geofoams, geocomposites
▪ Emergence of better guidelines for
determining the suitability of specific
techniques for certain types of soils and site
conditions.
▪ Better understanding of the geotechnical
processes involved and appreciation of the
significance of the construction sequence.
▪ Refinement of methods of analysis and
computer modeling techniques
 Likely Trends Tomorrow
◼ Microbes to stabilize or remediate soils,
◼ Nanotechnology to modify the behavior of clay,
◼ Nano-sensors and MEMS to characterize and
monitor the behavior of geomaterials and
geosystems,
◼ Remote sensing and noninvasive ground-based
sensing techniques, and
◼ Next-generation geologic data models to bridge
sensing, computation, and real-time simulation of
behavior for adaptive management purposes and
geophysics for urban infrastructure detection.