GROUND

IMPROVEMENT
TECHNIQUES

Presented by
AKSHAY SHRIVASTAVA,
B.Tech, (Civil) 2nd Year ,
DELHI TECHNICAL CAMPUS

Abstract:
Ground Improvement is the most
imaginative field of engineering. It is a field
in which the engineer forces the ground to
adopt the projects requirements, by altering
the natural state of the soil, instead of
having to alter the design in response to the
grounds natural limitations.
The results
usually include saving in construction cost
ad reduction of implementation time.

There are number of techniques available

for improving the mechanical and
engineering properties of the soil.
To improve the strength of the soils,
especially in case of granular type of
soils, COMPACTION METHODS are found
as best methods among all type of
techniques. Based on the mechanism
applied for compacting the soil, it is sub
divided into different methods like
dynamic compaction, blasting, vibro

Introduction:
Large Civil Engineering Projects are
being executed in all over the country
in order to enhance the infrastructure
of the country. Thus it is increasingly
important for the engineer to know the
degree to which soil properties may be
improved or other alternations that can
be thought of for construction of an
intended structure at stipulated site.

If unsuitable soil conditions are encountered at

the site of a proposed structure, one of the
following four procedures may be adopted to
insure satisfactory performance of the
structure.
By

pass the unsuitable soil by means of deep

foundations extending to a suitable bearing
material.
Redesign

the structure and its foundation for

support by the poor soil. This procedure may
not be feasible or economical.
Remove

the poor material and either treat it

to improve and replace it (or) substitute for it
with a suitable material.

Need for Ground

Improvement
1 Mechanical properties are not
adequate
2 swelling and shrinkage
3 collapsible soil
4 soft soil
5 organic soil and peaty soil
6 sand and gravel deposits, karst
deposit
with sink hole formation
7 foundation on dumps and sanitary
landfills

Ground
Techniques:

Improvement

On the basis of mechanism by which they

improve the engineering properties of soil, the
most of common of these can be divided into the
following major categories. These are
Densification Techniques.
Reinforcement Techniques.
Stabilization Techniques.
Miscellaneous Methods.
Apart from the methods listed above, there are
some other simple methods like removal and
replacement of soil. In this paper these are
discussed
first
before
taking
up
above
techniques.

Removal and Replacement of

Soil:
One of the oldest and simplest soil
improvement methods is to simply
excavate the unsuitable soil and replace
them with compacted fill. This method is
often used when the problem the soil is
that it is too loose. In that case, the same
soils used to build the fill, except now it
has a higher unit weight (because of
compaction) and thus has been better
engineering properties. This is a common
way
to
remediate
problems
with
collapsible soils.

Removal and replacement is generally

practical only above the ground water
table. Earthwork operations become
more difficult when the soil is very wet,
even when the free water pumped out,
and thus are generally avoided unless
absolutely necessary.

Pre-compression of Soil:

It requires only conventional equipment

earthmoving equipment, which is readily
available.
No special or proprietary
equipment is needed.

Any grading contractor can perform the work

The results can be effectively monitored by

using appropriate instrumentation and ground
level surveys.

The method has a long track record of

success.

The cost is comparatively low, so long as

soil for preloading is readily available.
However, there also are disadvantages.

The surcharge fill generally must extend

horizontally at least 10m beyond the
perimeter of the planned construction. This
may not possible for confined sites.

The transport of large quantities of soil onto

the sites may not be practical, or may have
unacceptable environmental impacts (i.e.,
dust, noise, traffic) on the adjacent areas.

The surcharge must remain in place for

months or years, thus delay in construction.

Densification
Techniques:
The strength and stiffness of the soil is
higher when the particles are packed in a
dense configuration than they are packed
loosely. As a result, densification is one of
the most effective and commonly used
means of improving soil characteristics.
This can be approaches in following ways.

Vibro Techniques:
Vibro techniques use probes that are
vibrated through soil deposit in a grid
pattern to densify the soil over the
entire

area

deposit.

of

thickness

of

the

These are classified in to

the following methods. These are

1Vibro Compaction:
Vibro Compaction is a method for
compacting deep granular soils by
repeatedly inserting a vibratory probe. It
is also known as VIBRO DENSIFICATION.
By
inserting
depth
vibrations,
the
vibrations are produced by rotating a
heavy eccentric weight with the help of an
electrical motor with in the vibrator. The
vibratory energy is used to rearrange the
granular particles in a denser state.
Penetration of the vibro is typically aided
by water jetting at the tip of the probe.

The Vibro-Compaction
Process

Some
of
advantages
and
disadvantages of this method are
given below.

It is often an economical alternative

to deep foundations, especially when
considering the added liquefaction
protection in seismic ares.

It is most effective in granular soils

It cannot be sued in cohesive soils.

Vibro Flotation:
In vibro floatation a torpedo like probe (the
vibro float) suspended by a crane is used to
density a soil deposit. Vibro floats usually 12 to
18 inch in diameter and about 10 to 16 ft long,
contain weights mounted eccentrically on a
central shaft driven by electric or hydraulic
power.
The vibro float is initially lowered to the bottom
of the deposit by a combination of vibration and
water or air jetting through ports in its pointed
nose cone. The vibro float is then incrementally
with drawn in 2 to 3 ft intervals at an over all
rate of about 1ft/min to loosen the soil above
the vibro float temporarily and aid in its with
drawl. The vibrations produce a localized zone
of temporary liquefaction that causes the soil
surrounding the vibro float to densify.

Principle of the technique

Vibro floating is most effective in clear

granular soils with the contents less than
20% and clay contents below 3%
Vibro flotation has been used successfully to
density soils to deep [this of up to 115ft]

DYNAMIC COMPRESSION
Blasting:

Blasting is most effective in loose sands

that contain less than 20% silt and less
than 5% clay.

Although blasting is quite economical, it

is limited by several considerations, as it
produces strong vibrations that may
damage near by structures or produce
significant ground movements.

Reinforcement
Techniques:
In some cases it is possible to improve the
strength and stiffness of a existing soils
deposit by installing discrete inclusions
that reinforce the soil. These inclusions
may consist of structural materials, such
as steel, concrete or timber and
geomaterials such as densified gravel.

Compaction Piles:

Compaction
piles
improve
the
seismic
performance of a soil by three different
mechanisms. First the flexural strength of piles
themselves provides resistance to soil movement
(reinforcement).
Second, the vibrations and
displacements produced by their installation cause
densification.
Finally, the installation process

JET
GROUTING

JET GROUTING
In jet grouting the soil is mixed with cement
grount injected horizontally under high
pressure in a previously drilled bore hole.
Jet grouting uses a special pipe equipped
with horizontal jets that inject grout into the
soil at high pressure. The pipes are first
inserted to the desired depth, then they are
raised and rotated while the injection is in
progress, thus forming a column of treated
soil.
Because of high pressure, this method is
usable on a wide range of soil types.

Electro
Osmasis
and
Electro
Chemical Hardening Method:
The electroosmasis process can be used to
increase the shear strength and reduce the
compressibility of soft clayey and silty soils
beneath foundation. By introducing an electrolyte
such as calcium chloride at the anode, the base
exchange reaction between the iron anode and
surrounding soil is increased, resulting in the
formation of ferric hydroxides which bind the soil
particles together.
However because cost of
electric power and wastage of electrodes,
electroosmasis with or without electrochemical
hardening can be considered only for special
situations where the alternative of piling cannot be
adopted.

Conclusion:

Unfavorable soil conditions can frequently be

improved using soil improvement techniques.
A variety of soil improvement techniques
have been developed. However a suitable
technique has to be adopt according to
necessity of the structure and economy.

Mainly soil improvement techniques can be

divided in to four broad categories;
Densification
technique,
Reinforcement
technique, grouting or mixing technique and
stabilization technique.

Densification is probably the most commonly

used soil improvement technique.
Most
densification techniques relay on tendency of
granular soils to densify when subjected to
vibrations. However there is a possibility of
damaging adjacent structures and pipelines
due to application of this technique.

Reinforcement techniques introduce discrete

inclusions that stiffen and strengthen a soil
deposit. The high stiffness and strength of
the inclusions also tend to reduce the
stresses imposed on the weaker materials
between the inclusion.

Thank You