Journal of Research in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering

Authors: S. Sandhya Rani, P. Suresh Praveen Kumar

Abstract: The primary application of various geotechnical construction techniques is for ground improvement. Many soil improvement methods have been developed due to the ongoing increase in urban and industrial growth and the need for greater access to lands. Stone columns are one of the best available techniques for soft soil improvement. In this method, subsurface soils which are weak and unstable are replaced with compacted dense aggregate columns that often entirely penetrate into the weak layers. This study deals with a short state-of-the art on the stone column ground improvement technique based on laboratory small scale model. Due to high permeability of the material component used in the stone columns, not only the load carrying capacity of the soil is raised, but also the soil settlement is reduced considerably and the post construction settlement is minimized. To achieve this goal, several significant characteristics of stone column in terms of design parameters are considered. This contribution, reports on small scale model tests for short time loading condition on column foundation, with special analysis for bearing and deformation behaviour of varying diameters of stone column in homogenous and layered soil. In the present work modifications to existing column technique proposed are carried out to evaluate the behaviour of stone column as Vertical reinforcement to improve bearing capacity of soft soils. The modification is in the form of introducing Stone Dust as a granular material. In addition to this the Encasement of grid is suggested for enhancing the load carrying capacity of the Stone Column.