Vibratory Ground Improvement Manual

Vibro Replacement (Wet Top Feed)

The Vibro Replacement Installation Process

This mode of operation is the original method of stone columns installation. In soil conditions, where flushing
water is available and its disposal does not negatively effect the environment, this method is less expensive than the
dry stone column method.

Penetration Flushing hole Installation Completion

The vibroprobe penetrates The zone around the The stone column is The surface is leveled
by vibration to the vibroprobe is flushed for installed by adding and eventually
required depth stone transport gravel from the top roller compacted

Depending on the foundation problem, the soil type and the performance characteristics of the different
vibroprobes columns of 0.5 m to 2.0 m diameter are installed.

Stone columns and other systems

Engineering Wick Drains Stone Columns Floating piles End bearing piles
Requirement
Settlement reduction - + + ++
Settlement acceleration + + - -
Instant - ++ + +
stability increase
Earthquake mitigation - ++ + +
- = no effect, + = positive effect, ++ = very positive effect

Vibro Systems Inc.

Vibratory Ground Improvement Manual

Vibro Displacement (Dry Bottom Feed)

The Vibro Displacement installation process

Penetration
The vibroprobe penetrates to the required depth by
vibration and jetting action of air.

Installation
Adding gravel through a tremie pipe alongside the
Vibroprobe creates the Stone Column.

Completion
The surface is leveled and eventually roller compacted.

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Vibratory Ground Improvement Manual

Vibro Concrete Columns (VCC)

Vibro Concrete Columns are cast-in-place displacement piles that are installed by lowering a Vibroprobe into the
soil and pumping concrete while slowly withdrawing the Vibroprobe back out of the ground.
Like all displacement piles, the surrounding soil is slightly compacted as a consequence of the pile installation. For
the VCC, compaction is even better than usual for displacement piles, since the vibroprobe’s vibration helps to
compact all granular soil layers.

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Vibratory Ground Improvement Manual

Dry Vibro Concrete Columns (DVCC)

Classification
DVCC (In German called Fertigmoertel-Stopfsaeulen = FSS) are classified as unreinforced piles according to
German Standard DIN 1054.

Limits of use
The German Institute for Construction Technology (Deutsches Institut fuer Bautechnik) stipulates that the use of
this type of pile has to be restricted to soils with an undrained shear strength of cU ≥ 15 kN/m2, but small sublayers
of less than 1 m thickness can have values as low as 8 kN/m2.

Installation
The only significant difference in the production process of DVCC and Dry Bottom Feed Stone Columns (DBFSC)
lies in the use of a dry concrete mixture instead of plain crushed gravel.
The Dry Vibro Concrete Columns are installed preferentially by the skip bucket Dry Bottom Feed machine.

Dry Concrete Mixture

Aggregate
% range Grain Size kg pounds
5% 0-2 mm 100 200
23 % 2-8 mm 372 744
36 % 8-16 mm 747 1494
36% 16-32 mm 747 1494

Cement: 170 kg (340 pounds) of HOZ-35L cement

Water: 70 liters
If crushed aggregate is used, 190 kg cement and 80 liters of water are recommended.

Advantages of the DVCC method over the VCC method

The dry concrete is much less a liquid than the pumpable concrete that is used for the standard VCC method.
This allows the vibroprobe to transmit more vibration waves and thereby compaction energy through the concrete
into the soil. The DVCC is therefore advisable for projects where the load bearing capability of a pure Stone
Column is not sufficient and a certain compaction of the soil around the pile is desired (e.g. to prevent liquefaction
in an earthquake). Such a compaction cannot be achieved with a standards pile or VCC-pile but the DVCC pile
offers this combined effect of high load bearing and soil compaction.

Disadvantages of the DVCC method

Although comparison tests in the same soil have never been done, it is plausible that the columns installed with
pumpable concrete (VCC) have a higher maximum internal strength due to the different concrete recipe. However,
very often the internal strength is not relevant and the better compaction of the surrounding soil may even allow for
a higher overall load bearing capacity of the DVCC.
The DVCC pile cannot be installed as fast as a standard VCC pile, but also does not require a costly concrete
pump.

Vibro Systems Inc.