GROUND IMPROVEMENT USING

STONE COLUMN
ROHIT KUMAR
PGRPE 2014

Overview
Introduction
Influencing Factors
Installation Techniques
Load capacity of stone column
Conclusion
References

Introduction
Stone columns are a ground improvement technique to improve
the load bearing capacity & reduce the settlement of soil.

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Mechanism of Load Transfer

Shaft resistance
End bearing

Influencing Factors
Soil: Subsurface soil whose undrained shear strength
range from 7 to 50 kpa or loose sandy soils including silty or
clayey sands.
Treatment depth: Average depth of stone column is around
15 m to 20 m.
Area of treatment: Stone column work most effectively when
used for large area stabilisation of soil mass.

Principle
Stabilisation of soil takes place by displacing the soil radially
with the help of a deep vibrator & refilling the resulting space
with granular material & compacting the same with the vibrator.

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Installation Techniques
Bored rammed method

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Contd.
Vibro replacement method: Hole is created in the ground &
compaction of granular fill backfilled in the hole is done by
vibrofloat.

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Installation Procedure
Wet top feed system

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Contd.
Dry bottom feed system

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Pattern of Arrangement
Triangular pattern

Square pattern

Design Parameters
Equivalent diameter:
De = 1.05 S for equilateral triangle
1.13 S for square pattern
where
S= spacing of stone columns
Replacement ratio (as):
as

where
As = area of stone column
Ag = area of ground surrounding the stone column

Contd.
Stress concentration factor:

n=

where

s = stress on the stone column

= stress on the soil surrounding the stone column

n lies between 2.5 to 5

Load capacity of stone column

Capacity based on bulging of column

v = rl Kpcol
rl = (r + 4cu) Kpcol
where

v = limiting axial stress in column during bulging

rl = limiting radial stress
cu = undisturbed undrained shear strength
v
Safe load on column (Q1) =

( D2)
.

Contd.
Surcharge effect

r =

(1+2ko)
3

where,

qsafe = .

Increase in safe load of column(Q2) =
2

Contd.
Bearing support by intervening soil
2

Area of the intervening soil, Ag = 0.866S2 4

Safe load taken by intervening soil(Q3) = qsafeAg

Overall safe load = Q1+Q2+Q3

Disadvantages
Ground improvement by stone column cannot be achieved in
clays with sensitivity greater than 4.

Stone column when installed at a distance or less than 3.66 m

can cause high lateral pressures & displacement of adjacent
structures.
Severe cracks could be seen in structures close by the stone
column site due to vibrations.

Stone column in cohesive clays & silts is suitable only if

preloading facility is available.

Conclusion
Stone column improves the bearing capacity & reduces the
settlement of weak strata.
Rapid consolidation due to dissipation of excess pore water
pressure takes place so construction can be started quickly.
Stone column when installed at a distance of 4.87 m or more
eliminates the damage caused by vibrations.

References
Zahmatkesh, A. and Choobbasti, A. (2010), Settlement
evaluation of soft clay reinforced by stone columns
considering the effect of compaction, International Journal of
Research and Reviews in Applied Sciences, 3 (12), pp.159166.
McCabe, A. (2007) Ground improvement using vibrostone
column technique, The Institute of Engineers of Ireland, 2
(32), pp.1-12.
Mani, K. and Nigee, K. (2013), A study on ground
improvement using stone column technique, International
Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and
Technology, 2 (11), pp. 6451-6456.