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Effect of Geosynthetic Encasement on Sand Column in Soft Soil

Uttam Kumar1, Tandel Y K2, and Solanki C H2
1. Civil Engineering Department, CGPIT Bardoli, Surat-394350
2. Applied Mechanics Department, SVNIT, Surat-395007

Abstract—The soil improvement method mostly used in the current state of the practice with densification, consolidation, reinforcement, chemical treatment and stabilization of soil. Soil reinforcement can be an ideal solution for improvement of clay. Out of other conventional methods, stone columns (or sand columns) are effectively being used for ground improvement, particularly for flexible structures such as road embankments, oil storage tanks, etc. The load capacity of the sand columns mainly depends on the shear strength of the surrounding soft soil. The sand column is found useful in improving load capacity and reducing the settlement of clay deposit. In addition to this, the encasement of geosynthetic all-round the sand columns is suggested for enhancing the load carrying capacity of the sand column in treated ground which also ensures the easy formation of columns in weak strata. The present study investigates the effect of diameters of geosynthetic encased sand columns in soft soil deposit during loading. The load responses of sand columns are also investigated with the variation of encasement length of the column. 

Index Terms—geosynthetic encased sand column, ordinary sand column, geosynthetic, bulk unit weight, relative density, reinforcement, soft clay

Cite: Uttam Kumar, Tandel Y K, and Solanki C H, "Effect of Geosynthetic Encasement on Sand Column in Soft Soil," International Journal of Structural and Civil Engineering Research, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 141-146, August 2013.