using
Vibro Replacement
in ASIA 1994 to 2004
A 10 Year Review
Presented by
Keller Grundbau GmbH
Kaiserleistr. 44
D-63067 Offenbach 5th International Conference on
Tel. +49 69 8051 - 0 GROUND IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES
Fax +49 69 8051 - 244 22 23 March 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E-mail Info@KellerGrundbau.com
www.KellerGrundbau.com Technical paper 10-60E
GROUND IMPROVEMENT USING
VIBRO REPLACEMENT IN ASIA 1994 TO 2004
A 10 YEAR REVIEW
Abstract
Along with the rapid growth of infrastructure development in Asia in the last decade, ground
improvement using Vibro Replacement (stone columns) has found increasing application and
acceptance. The soils treated range from loose silty sands, soft marine clays, ultra soft silts and
clays from mine tailings to peaty clays. Treatment purpose has been to limit settlements and to
ensure stability. In earthquake prone regions, it has also been used to mitigate liquefaction potential.
Structures supported have ranged from simple earth embankments, highway embankments, modern
expressway embankments, railway embankments to power plant structures, marine structures,
chemical plants and large LNG tanks.
This paper reports on specific projects executed by Keller in the last 10 years in various Asian
countries. Technical aspects with regard to soil type and behaviour and structure types and
performance requirements are highlighted.
1. Introduction
Countries in Asia have seen increasing growth in infrastructure development in the last decade.
The presence of large deposits of weak soils of varying types has necessitated the development and
application of various ground improvement techniques.
The technique of Vibro Replacement has found increasing acceptance owing to its flexibility with
regard to the type and depth of soil being treated and the type and intensity of loading being applied.
It has found application in the treatment of loose silty sands, soft marine clays, ultra soft silts and
clays from mine tailings, peaty clays etc.
The Vibro Replacement technique has found acceptance not only to limit settlements and to ensure
stability but also to mitigate liquefaction potential in earthquake prone regions. The range of structures
varied from highways, railways and airports to marine structures, power plant structures, chemical
plants and storage tanks.
1
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
This paper provides an update on various techniques of vibro replacement available today. It then
describes the types of soils that are suitable for treatment using this technique. Finally, various types
of structures that were founded on soils treated with vibro replacement are illustrated using actual
examples from projects executed in the last 10 years by Keller in Asia.
The vibro replacement technique provides an economic and flexible solution, which easily adapts to
varying ground conditions. Using vibro replacement, the following geotechnical improvements are
achievable:
Improvement in the stiffness of the subsoil to decrease settlements
Improvement in the shear strength of the subsoil to increase bearing capacity
Compaction of loose non-cohesive soils to mitigate liquefaction potential
Ability to carry very high loads since columns are ductile
Rapid consolidation of the subsoil
Column diameters typically range between 0.7 m and 1.1 m and spacings range between 1.5 m and
2.5m. Column lengths depend on soils encountered on site but typically range between 6 m and 20 m.
In exceptional circumstances where deep weak soil deposits are found, columns have been installed
to depths of up to 30 m. For further details on vibro replacement technique, the reader is referred to
Moseley M.P. and Priebe H.J. (1993) [1]. For the details on design aspects of vibro replacement
technique the reader is referred to Priebe H.J. (1995) [2].
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Ground Improvement Techniques
3. Installation Methods
The basic tool for the process of vibro replacement is a depth vibrator. It consists of a long steel tube
in which an eccentric weight and an electric motor are mounted. The rotation of the eccentric weight
results in the generation of horizontal forces which are used to displace the soil and compact the
stones. Keller has developed a variety of depth vibrators such as the Mono, S and L vibrators to suit
various soil conditions. Feeding of stone can be done from the top (top feed) or from the bottom of
the vibrator (bottom feed). Keller also developed two types of bottom feed plant as an attachment to
the various types of vibrators and are referred as Alpha and Beta systems. Figure 2 shows cross
sections of typical top feed and bottom feed vibrators.
(a) Kellers top feed vibrator (b) Kellers bottom feed vibrator
There are different types of installation methods available and can be broadly classified
in the following manner:
Wet top feed method
Dry bottom feed vibrocat method
Dry bottom feed crane-hung method
Offshore bottom feed method
3
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
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Ground Improvement Techniques
Filling of
Stone supply
material lock
5
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
4. Soil Types
The unique characteristic of the Vibro Replacement technique is that it is able to treat a wide range of
weak soils. The following section discusses various soil types that have been treated in the recent past
in Asia.
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Ground Improvement Techniques
depth [m]
sand, silt & clay 11 10,0
-17
-7 9
dense sand 30/75 20/30
-30
-20 12
stiff clay and sand 50
-50
-40
dense sand 75
-80 15
-70 base formation
(assumed as incompressible)
18
Figure 7: Typical soil profile and CPT plot from Hazira site (Gujarat, India)
loose to medium 3
dense fine sand
10.5m
depth [m]
12
25.0m
cone resistance Qc [MPa]
sandy base
required to prevent liquefaction
stratum without stone columns
required with stone columns
Figure 8: Typical soil profile and CPT plot from Malampaya site (Batangas, Philippines)
Loose silty sands are also found in areas where tin mining activities have taken place. They are often
found directly adjacent to mine tailings ponds. The treatment of these former mining areas entails the
densification of these loose silty sands also.
7
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
(a)
6
8
10
12
Figure 9: Typical (a) soil profile and (b) CPT plot from
Kajang Ring Road Interchange H site
14
(Kajang, Malaysia)
Typically, CPT tip resistances are less than 200 kPa and the soil cannot even support a 1.0 m high
embankment. The silts have low plasticity and relatively high permeability (partly due to the presence
of sand lenses) which results in rapid consolidation. Once a working platform has been built after
partial displacement of the soft soil in the top 1 to 2m, these soils can be effectively treated using
Vibro Replacement to support high earth embankments (ref. Raju V.R. et. al. (2004) [4]) without the
need for placing any surcharge.
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Ground Improvement Techniques
-10
-15
-20
Figure 10: Typical CPT plot and soil properties from Shah Alam
-25
Expressway Interchange Kebun site (Klang, Malaysia)
Even though the tip resistance for the marine clays are similar to that for the ultra soft silts, the soil
behaviour is quite different. Owing to the low permeability and highly plastic nature, the time for 90%
consolidation is longer than that for slimes and allowance has to be made for secondary consolidation
settlements. If necessary, a surcharge may be used to accelerate the treatment process.
0m
homehold and
municipal waste
6m
14 m
stiff clay Figure 11: Typical soil profile and view of waste
dump at Jelutong expressway
9
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
5. Structure Types
Infrastructure projects involve the construction of a variety of structures. This section describes some
of the structure types that have been founded on soils treated with vibro replacement and specific
case histories that have been executed by Keller in the last decade in Asia. A summary of these case
histories is tabulated and presented in Annexure 1.
+16 m
+13,5 m
+11 m
0m
Stone columns
8m
Soft clay
Dense layers
80 m lateral extent
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Ground Improvement Techniques
5.2 Highways
Malaysia has seen extensive highway construction in recent times with several projects on a privatised
toll collection basis. As a result, speed of construction was of primary importance and long rest
periods for consolidation were not available. Vibro replacement proved to be an ideal solution to treat
the soft soils as described in sections 4.2 and 4.3 above. The treatment was designed to the
specifications laid down by the Malaysian Highway Authorities (MHA) which may be summarised as
follows:
Maximum total post construction settlement of 400 mm (including short-term and long-term).
Maximum differential settlement of 100 mm over a length of 100 m (1 in 1000) along
the centreline of embankment.
Overall embankment stability with a minimum factor of safety of 1.4 (short-term) and
1.5 (long-term).
KUALA LUMPUR
N
Petaling Jaya
ng Valley
New Kla
11
Federal Route
STRAITS Shah Alam KINRARA
OF Klang SRI PETALING
MALACCA g NATIONAL
elan
Sun gai K TAMAN SPORTS
MAWAR COMPLEX
JALAN
GOLF
LANGAT
Jalan Puchong
SHAH ALAM
WEST (KEBUN)
Package B Package A
The technique of Vibro Replacement has been used extensively in the both packages and stone
columns have been installed using both wet and dry systems to treat the soft / loose soils at 7
interchanges and overpasses with embankment / RE wall heights up to 10 m. The length of stone
columns varied between 8 m and 26 m with diameters of 1.0 and 1.2 m. Figure 14 shows typical
cross-section of the embankment along with a scheme of stone column treatment at Kinrara
interchange. For further details on Shah Alam Expressway project, the reader is referred Raju V.R.
and Hoffmann G. (1996) [6], Raju V.R. et. al. (1997) [7] and Raju V.R. (1997) [8].
11
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
Ramp C
25,2 m
9,2 m
RL 16,0
16,0 m
Very soft clayey Silt
(Mining slime)
Stone Column
Dense layers = 1,2 m
2,0 2,0 2,0 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8 1,8
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Ground Improvement Techniques
surcharge level
12.5m
13
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
Figure 17: Plan layout of interchange H showing pond locations and stone column treatment area
For further details on interchange H, the reader is referred to Raju V.R. et. al. (2004) [4]. In
addition to Interchange H, three more locations were also treated using vibro replacement for
the Kajang Ring Road project in order to improve soft or loose soils. The soils varied from soft
silty clays to loose silty sands to depths between 8 m and 12 m.
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Ground Improvement Techniques
Figure 19: Typical pictures showing installation of stone columns and completed RE wall
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Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
R.C. Structure
RL +32.0 Top of Bridge Deck
Water Lev.
RL +21.5
Embankment
RL +12.0 Pile cap
Bored piles
Stone Columns Stone Columns
Figure 20: Longitudinal section through the bridge abutment at Bridge BR8
Figure 21: View of completed cable stayed arch bridge BR8 at Putrajaya
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Ground Improvement Techniques
17
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
Figure 23: Photo showing the Alpha S system and the stone being fed from
a stone barge using a long arm excavator
5.5 Railways
Modern high speed railway lines require that track settlements are limited to within very tight
tolerances. An example specification from the Ipoh Rawang Double track project required
the following:
Maximum total post construction settlement of 25 mm over a period of 6 months
of commercial rail service.
Maximum differential settlement of 10 mm over a track length of 10 m (1 in 1000)
along the centreline of embankment.
Overall embankment stability with a minimum factor of safety of 1.4 (short-term) and
1.5 (long-term).
For details on railway projects that are executed by Keller world wide, the reader is referred
to Raju V.R. (2003) [9].
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Ground Improvement Techniques
19
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
Figure 26: Schematics showing half-width and full-width treatment adjoining the existing railway line
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Ground Improvement Techniques
In total, stone columns were installed at 23 separate locations (by Keller) covering a track length
of approximately 7km. Works were often carried out very close to the existing track (approx. 2 m
away) without any disturbance to normal train operations. Typical picture showing the installation
dry stone columns adjoining the existing track using vibrocat and crane-hung units is shown in
Figure 27.
Figure 27: Installation of dry stone columns adjoining the existing track
The double tracking of the existing line necessitated the increase in the bridge spans which
implied that in most cases, new bridges had to be built adjoining the existing ones. Approach
embankments for the bridges reached a maximum height of 12 m and were often supported by
reinforced soil walls. Figure 28 shows the treatment scheme for the new embankment adjoining
the existing one. Vibro replacement was carried out at 4 bridge locations covering a treatment
area of about 48,000 sq.m.
Figure 28: Schematic showing treatment for road over rail embankments
21
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
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Ground Improvement Techniques
T1001 T1002
16 m
Stone columns
Pipe route
Zone of improvement
T1001 T1002
105 m dia.
84 m dia.
Tank
Pumps Pumps
Pipe Rack
23
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
The site is overlain by 3 to 4 m thick soft silty, sandy clay layer followed by loose to medium
dense silty sand layers having fines content in the range of 10% to 30%. This is underlain by dense
to very dense sand layers which were found at depths varying between 3 m and 15 m. In addition
to instability of the embankment due to soft clay layer a surface, a maximum peak ground
acceleration of 0.4 g is to be expected during possible seismic event which makes the loose to
medium dense silty sand layer susceptible to liquefaction.
Ground improvement using vibro replacement method was chosen in order to provide adequate
stability to the embankment and to reduce liquefaction potential and build up of excess pore
water pressure. Over 20,000 linear meters of stone columns were installed in primary and
secondary grids with varying depths using the dry bottom feed method. Typical plan and cross-
section view of the jetty approach embankment is shown in Figure 31. For further details on
Santa Rita Power Station project, the reader is referred to Raju V.R. et. al. (1998) [5].
Primary SC - grid
Second. SC - grid
30 m
Oil pipelines
Intake pipes
Jetty
Stone columns under
jetty approach embankment
Outfall pipes
Figure 31: Plan and cross-sectional
view of jetty approach Treatment area Power
embankment plant
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Ground Improvement Techniques
Figure 32: Typical picture showing installation of dry bottom feed stone columns
25
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
A typical CPT profile comparing pre and post treatment results can be seen in Figure 33. The
sand layer up to 10 m improved from approx. 5 MPa to 10 12 MPa, the layer below from approx.
7.5 MPa to 14 MPa and more.
10
Depth [m]
15
20
25
30
Figure 33: Typical CPT profile showing pre and post treatment results
Based on the authors experience, the following issues need special attention when treating soft to
ultra soft soils.
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Ground Improvement Techniques
7. Future Developments
The method and equipment is continuously being improved. Special vibrators to penetrate dense top
layers, robotic systems where column installation is automated (to minimise operator errors),
automated quality control systems, new systems for efficient transport of stone to the compaction
point are some of the ongoing developments
Refinements in design methodology, numerical analysis using 2D and 3D finite element modelling (ref.
Kirsch F. and Sondermann W. (2003) [11]), detailed in situ stress measurements on soil and columns all
lead to a better understanding of the load transfer and load sharing mechanisms between soil and
column which in turn leads to a better assessment of the overall soil improvement.
8. Conclusions
This paper describes the use of vibro replacement to treat a variety of soils and structure types. Over
3 million linear meters of stone columns have been installed by Keller in Asia in the last 10 years using
a variety of vibro replacement methods to suit site specific conditions.
Careful soil investigation, design, column installation with online quality control and post construction
monitoring has ensured a stable foundation for the structures resting on soil improved by vibro
replacement.
9. Acknowledgments
The construction and completion of the works described in this paper naturally involved several
organisations ranging from owners, main contractors, design consultants and of course several Keller
staff. Their assistance and contribution is gratefully acknowledged.
27
Dr. V. R. Raju R. Wegner Y. Hari Krishna, Keller Grundbau GmbH
References:
[1] Moseley, M.P. and Priebe, H.J. (1993), Vibro techniques, Ground Improvement, Edited by
M.P. Moseley, Blackie Academic & Profession, pp. 119.
[2] Priebe, H.J. (1995), The Design of Vibro Replacement, Ground Engineering,
December 1995, pp. 31-37.
[3] Priebe, H.J. (1998), Vibro Replacement to Prevent Earthquake Induced Liquefaction,
Proceedings of the 5th Geotechnique-Colloquium, Darmstadt, Germany, March 1998.
[4] Raju, V.R., Yee, Y.W., Tam, E. and Sreenivas, P. (2004), Vibro Replacement for the Construction of
a 15 m High Highway Embankment over a Mining Pond, Malaysian Geotechnical Conference,
Kuala Lumpur, 2004.
[5] Raju, V.R., Wegner, R. and Godenzie, D. (1998), Ground Improvement using Vibro Techniques
Case Histories from S.E. Asia, Ground Improvement Conference, Singapore, 1998.
[6] Raju, V.R. and Hoffmann, G. (1996), Treatment of Tin Mine Tailings in Kuala Lumpur using
Vibro Replacement, Proceedings of the 12th SEAGC, May 1996.
[7] Raju, V.R., Masud, A. and Ha, P. (1997), Vibro Replacement - A Technique for Extensive Ground
Improvement Works in Very Soft Cohesive Soils at the Shah Alam Expressway, 4th Geotechnique-
Colloquium, Darmstadt, Germany, March 1997.
[8] Raju, V.R. (1997), The Behaviour of Very Soft Cohesive Soils Improved by Vibro Replacement,
Ground Improvement Conference, London, June, 1997.
[9] Raju, V.R. (2003), Ground Improvement Techniques for Railway Embankments, Railtech Conference,
Malaysia, 2003.
[10] Raju, V.R., Wegner, R. and Vetriselvan, A. (2003), Application of Vibro Techniques for Infrastructure
Projects in India, Proceedings of the Indian Geotechnical Conference, Roorkee, India, 2003.
[11] Kirsch, F. and Sondermann, W. (2003) Field Measurements and Numerical Analysis of the Stress
Distribution below Stone Column Supported Embankments and their Stability, International
Workshop on Geotechnics of Soft Soils-Theory and Practice, Vermeer, Schweiger, Karstunen & Cudny
(eds.) 2003 VGE.
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Annexure I
Vibro Replacement projects executed by Keller in Asia in the last decade (1994 2004)
Name of the
S. No. Year Country Soil Structure Purpose of Improvement
Project
29
30