Experimental investigation of the mechanical properties of geogrid reinforced stone column groups

Abstract

Increasing trend in the population density of the cities causes rising demand on high rise construction projects. High-rise structures bring high vertical loads on foundation soils. Especially in shallow foundations built on weak soils, large amounts of soil settlements may occur due to high vertical loads, which can cause varying levels of damages to the superstructural load bearing elements. In weak soils accommodating high liquefaction potential, settlement and stability problems, it becomes generally necessary to establish piled foundations or to use soil improvement methods under the building foundations since sole application of shallow foundations may not be sufficient to transfer superstructure loads to the soils. At this point, stone columns appear as one of the economical and efficient soil improvement solutions. Within this study, a physical modeling study were performed on small-scale stone column group models. The deformations and the pressure acting on the stone column group were monitored during the tests. The performance of ordinary stone columns was compared to those of the stone columns wrapped with geotextiles. It was observed that wrapped stone columns may handle higher foundations loads for the same deformation levels.