INTRO

The soils at construction sites are not always totally suitable

for supporting physical infrastructure such as buildings,
bridges, highways, tunnels and dams. Soft, weak soil can
prove to be a major challenge on many construction sites.
Without ground treatment, on certain 'difficult' sites subject
to new building loads, there could be an unacceptable
amount of settlement or the risk of shear failure leading to
cosmetic or even catastrophic damage to buildings.

1) Soil stabilization is the process which is used to improve the

engineering properties of the soil and thus making it more stable.
Soil stabilization is required when the soil available for construction
is not suitable for the intended purpose.

The objective: to reduce the post construction settlement ,enhance

the shear strength of the soil system , increase the bearing capacity
of the soil, and improve the stability of dams and embankments To
increase bearin g p y y( ) ca pacit y and stabilit y (avoid failure ) To
reduce post construction settlements To reduce liquefaction risk
(seismic areas) To reduce liquefaction risk (seismic areas) improved
ground water condition.
Soil improvement techniques vary depending on the characteristics of the soils and
subsoils. Some techniques are applied to consolidate existing loose subsoils and
some are specifically for compaction of newly reclaimed soil.

Removal and replacement

Precompression

Vertical drains

In-situ densification

Grouting

Stabilization using admixtures

Reinforcement

Removal

This means removing unsuitable soil and replacing it with sand with better
characteristics. The foundation condition can be improved by replacing poor soil
(eg. organic soils and medium or soft clay) with more competent materials such as
sand, gravel or crushed stone as well, nearly any soil can be used in fills. Soils that
will have to be replaced include contaminated soils or organic soils
One of oldest and simplest methods.

Replacement is the most simple in concept and reliable technique if employed

properly. Soil replacement involves excavating the soil that needs to be improved
and replacing it. often crushed aggregate base course. A synthetic geofabric or
geogrid material is sometimes placed on the soil before the aggregate base course
is placed.

it is more economical and requires less delay to construction. Despite of soil

replacement's advantages, the determination of the replacement soil thickness is
based on experience which in many cases is questionable. Method is usually
practical only above the groundwater table

These treatments are, however, typically more costly as soil replacement requires
finding better material which may be at a distant location.

Precompression

Pre compression or preloading technique is simply to place a surcharge fill on the

top of the soil that requires large consolidation settlement to take place before
construction of the structure. Once sufficient consolidation has occurred, the fill can
be removed and construction process takes place. In general, this technique is
adequate and most effective in clayey soil.

Requires only conventional earthmoving equipment

Any grading contractor can perform the work

Long track record of success

Surcharge fill must extend horizontally at least 10 m beyond the perimeter of the
planned construction, which may not be possible at confined sites

Transport of large quantities of soil required

Surcharge must remain in place for months or years, thus delaying construction

Vertical Drains VERTICAL OR WICK DRAINS

Vertical drains are a unique technique in which the drains are installed under a
surcharge load to accelerate the drainage of relatively impervious soils and thus
speed up consolidation. These drains provide a shorter path for the water to flow
through to get away from the soil. The common types of vertical drains are sand
drains and prefabricated vertical drains

Sand drains are constructed by drilling holes through the clay layer by using rotary
drilling, continuous flight auger or driving down hollow mandrels into the soil. The
holes are then filled with sand.When a surcharge is applied at the ground surface,
the pore water pressure in the clay will increase, and it will be dissipated by
drainage in both vertical and horizontal directions. Hence the settlement is
accelerated

Time to drain clay layers can be reduced from years to a couple of months
In-situ densification

densing the natural soil existing in the construction site. The purpose of
densification is to increase strength and to reduce settlement of loose granular
soils. Often, improvement of uniformity of the originally heterogeneous soil
become the purpose of densification. Most effective in sands.

Vibro-compaction is a technique of densification by inserting vibratory probes into

in situ soil. Typically 3 to 15m is the improvement depth. Vibro Compaction is
used to mitigate liquefaction potential in seismic areas.

Vibroflotation is used for compacting thick deposits of loose, sandy soils upto
30m depth. Another method is Vibro-replacement, Reinforcement of the soil with
compacted granular columns or "stone columns"
Dynamic compaction Uses a special crane to lift 5-30 tons to heights of 40 to
100 feet then drop these weights onto the ground

Should be aware of the transmission of ground vibrations. Silts and Clays poor and
not even applicable.

Grouting

Defined as the injection of a special liquid or slurry material called grout into the
ground for the purpose of improving the soil or rock

When grout, a pumpable material is injected into a soil or rock formation, it may
permeate into the natural openings such as void space of the soil and fissures in the
rocks, or create an opening by fracturing the soil mass, or displace the surrounding
soil.

Types of grouts: Cementitious grouts Chemical grouts

Types of grouting. (slides)

Cement is mixed with water and soils by special equipment in site. Physical and
chemical reactions within cement and soil are happened. Setting of cement will
enclose soil as glue, but it will not change the structure of soil. The soil is hardened
as cemented soil.

the completed grouted zone usually has an irregular shape and imhomogeneity

Stabilization using admixtures

Most common admixture is Portland Cement

Admixture stabilization consists of mixing or injecting admixtures such as cement,

lime, flyash or bentonite into a soil to improve its properties.
Although a variety of chemical additives has been developed and used, most
frequently used additives nowadays are lime and cement due to its availability and
lower cost. Admixtures can fill voids, bind particles, or break down soil particles and
form cement. Objective is to provide artificial cementation, thus increasing strength
and reducing both compressibility and hydraulic conductivity

Used to reduce expansion potential of clays

Used in surface mixing applications

In parts of the world where soft subsoil is a serious problem for maritime
construction, using admixtures to stabilise the soil may be a solution.

Reinforcement

Soil is stronger in compression than in tension

To improve strength in tension, geosynthetics placed in soil for soil reinforcement

Soil Nailing. Soil nailing is an in situ technique for reinforcing, stabilizing, and
retaining excavations and deep cuts through the introduction of relatively small,
closely spaced inclusions (usually steel bars) into a soil mass, the face of which is
then locally stabilized. A zone of reinforced ground results that functions as a soil
retention system. . Soil nails are not easily performed in cohesionless granular soils,
soft plastic clays, or organics/peats.

Thermal Stabilization (Heating and Freezing)

Thermal stabilization is divided into two groups of heating and

freezing. Heating or freezing a soil can cause marked changes in its properties.
Although thermal stabilizations appear to be very effective, the use of these
methods is limited because of its high cost. Even small increase in temperature may
cause strength increase in fine grained soils by reducing the electric repulsion
between the particles, a flow of pore water due to thermal gradient and a reduction
in moisture content because of increasing evaporation rate. Soil freezing involves
lowering the temperature of the soil until the moisture in the pore spaces freezes.
Freezing of pore water acts as a cementing agent between the soil particles causing
significant increase in shear strength and permeability

Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages in relation to time,
cost and performance. Therefore the best plan is always to contact specialist
contractors to evaluate the entire project and consider its specific needs regarding
soil conditions. Although this evaluation stage may bring additional costs, proper
preparation, be it through undertaking trials or field and laboratory testing and/or
intense performance monitoring, will ultimately be recovered in the heightened
efficiency with which the land is secured.

Positive effects

Some types of soil improvement methods can also provide a cost-effective means of
reducing soil contamination. Dewatering contaminated soil has a twofold effect.
Some of the improved soil can be reused for construction projects, eliminating the
need to mine new pit sand. The remaining unusable sediment is reduced in quantity
decreasing the amount of space needed for storage, which is always a costly,
environmentally sensitive issue. In addition, when additives such as cement are
used during soil improvement they both increase the bearing capacity of soils for
construction works and also immobilise contaminated marine sediments.

In certain regions of the world like Japan and California, the frequency of
seismic activity can be threatening to maritime construction. This can be a
serious issue when installing offshore equipment and other marine
structures such as tunnels, wharfs, ports, airports in the sea. Here too,
methods, such as compaction, soil replacement and admixtures, have
made steady advances in developing countermeasures for coping with the
threat of seismic instability by limiting the chances of soil liquefaction

The decision as to which technique to use to

improve the soil at the construction site depends

on a number of factors, including:

Cost

Project size

Contractor capabilities and preferences

Material availability

Disposal options (for remove-and-replace)

Equipment access or operating constraints

Existing soil types and soil conditions