Stone Columns: An Overview

by
S.V. Abhishek & V. Tarachand

Department of Civil Engineering

College of Engineering (A)
Andhra University
Visakhapatnam

 Amongst

Stone Columns

various techniques for improving

insitu ground conditions, stone columns are probably
the most versatile, due to their ability to perform a
variety of important geotechnical functions.
Origin
Germany (1950s)
In India, the use of stone columns began in the
early 1970s.
Load bearing columns of well compacted coarse
aggregate installed in the ground to serve various
purposes such as reinforcement, densification and
drainage.

Applicable Soil Types

Soft,

Non-Compactible, Weak Soils

Granular
Soils with High Fines
Content (in excess of 15%)
Organic Soils
Marine/Alluvial Clays
Liquefiable Soils
Waste Fills
Reclaimed Fly Ash/Pond Ash Ponds

Functions
Improve

the bearing capacity of weak soils.

Carry

high shear stresses by acting as stiff

elements and hence increase the stability of
embankments founded on soft ground.

Facilitate

radial drainage (by acting as vertical

drains) and dissipate rapidly the excess pore water
pressure leading to acceleration of consolidation
process and reduced post-construction settlements.

Mitigate

the potential for liquefaction and damage

by preventing build up of high pore pressure,
providing a drainage path and increasing the
strength and stiffness of the ground.

Due to high angle of internal friction and stiffness of stone

column when compared to that of in-situ weak soil,
majority of applied load is transferred to stone column.
As a result, less load is transferred to surrounding weak
soil which leads to reduction in settlement.

Installation Patterns

Area of Influence = (3/2)S2

De = 1.05S

Area of Influence = S2
De = 1.13S

Time required for consolidation is directly proportional

to square of the drainage path.

Load Carrying Mechanism

Lateral earth pressure/radial confining
stress against bulging from surrounding
soil.
Surface resistance or frictional
resistance developed between the
column material and surrounding weak
soil acting upwards within the critical
length.
Passive resistance mobilized by
column material.
Load carrying capacity of stone
columns = 100 to 400 kN.
Note: End bearing is not considered in
estimation of load carrying capacity
because load carrying mechanism is
local perimeter shear.

Estimation of Load Carrying Capacity

Assumed

that foundation loads are carried only

by the stone columns with no contribution from
the intermediate ground.
K p (4c 'r )
qa
Hughes & Withers (1974)
F.S.
where,
qa = allowable bearing capacity of stone column
Kp = coefficient of passive earth pressure
= tan2(45+/2)
c = cohesion of soil
r = average effective radial stress over a depth
of 4d where d is the diameter of the column
F.S. = factor of safety = 1.5 to 3.0

Settlement Control
Stone

columns should extend through weak

soil to harder firm strata to control
settlements.
Provision of stone columns does not reduce
the entire consolidation settlement. The
reduction depends on the spacing of stone
columns (generally 2.0 to 3.0 m c/c over the
site).
Maximum percentage reduction of settlement
is 75%.

Drainage Function of Stone Columns

Load

carrying capacity of stone columns is

generated by the top section of the column
which extends to about 4 times the diameter
of the stone column.

The

length below 4d allows for radial

drainage and acceleration of settlements.

To

retain continuity of drainage path, it is

necessary to provide a 150 mm thick drainage
blanket on top of the stone columns.

Failure Mechanism (IS: 15284 Part 1 2003)

Installation Techniques
1. Rammed Stone Column Technique
2. Vibro-Replacement

Wet Top-Feed Method

Dry Bottom-Feed Method

Rammed Stone Column by Cased Borehole Method

(Datye and Nagaraju, 1975)

Vibro-Replacement
The Depth Vibrator Principle:
Extension Tube

Coupling
Air or
Water
Supply
Motor
Excentric
Weight
Tip

Depth Vibrator (Courtesy of Keller Group)

Air Chamber and Lock

Extension Tube
Flexible Coupling

Electric Motor
Stone Feeder Pipe
Eccentric Weight

Top-Feed Vibrator

Bottom-Feed Vibrator

Wet Top-Feed Method

(Courtesy of Keller Group)

Dry Bottom-Feed Method with Leader

Supported Rig (Courtesy of Keller Group)

Vibrocat (Courtesy of Keller Group)

Dry Bottom-Feed Crane Hung System

(Courtesy of Keller Group)

Quality Control - Production Monitoring

On-board M4 Computer: Depth, Compaction,

Length of Pull, Re-penetration, Increase in Power
Consumption, Column Diameter

Stone Column after Installation

Post-Installation Quality Control (Load Test)

Applications in Civil Engineering

Rail

and Road Embankments

Bridge Approaches and Abutments
Offshore Bridge Abutments
Airport Runways and Taxiways
Storage Tanks (LNG, Crude Oil, LPG etc)
Power Plants

Ipoh-Rawang Electrified Double Track

(Malaysia)

Ipoh-Rawang Electrified Double Track

(Malaysia)

KVMRT Kajang Maintenance Depot

(Malaysia)

Bridge Approaches and Abutments

Putrajaya, Malaysia

Putrajaya Bridge Approach

Embankment
R.C. Structure
RL +32.0

Top of Bridge Deck

Water Lev. RL +21.5

E mbankment
RL +12.0

Pile cap

Stone columns

Bored piles

Stone columns

Offshore Bridge Abutments

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Airport Runways and Taxiways

Alor Setar Airport Project, Malaysia

Storage Tanks

Hazira LNG Terminal, Gujarat

Case History of Highway

Embankment on Stone Column
Treated Ground in Queensland,
Australia (Oh et al. 2007)

Subsoil Properties

520 mm

Untreated

495 mm

SC @ 3m c/c

SC @ 2m c/c
390 mm

Lateral Displacement Profiles

Conclusions
Stone Columns are one of the most versatile
techniques for engineering the ground.
They can be installed to improve a variety of
ground conditions through several variants of the
technique such as rammed stone columns and
vibro-replacement (wet top-feed and dry bottomfeed methods).
The in-situ ground is improved by reinforcement,
densification and drainage functions performed by
the stone columns.
From the case history, the embankment treated
with stone columns spaced at 2 m centre to centre
experienced the least settlement and lateral
displacement when compared to the other cases.

Acknowledgments

Prof. M.R. Madhav

Professor Emeritus, JNTU
Visiting Professor, IIT Hyderabad

Dr. V.R. Raju

Managing Director
Keller Asia

Earthquake Rose

Thank

You