An Experimental Study on heave and Uplift Behaviour of Granular Pile Anchor Foundation System

Abstract

Several innovative ground improvement techniques were presented by various researchers throughout the globe for modification of the existing poor soils. Granular Pile-Anchors (GPA) were found to be more promising in resisting the heave behavior of the expansive soils in recent times. The engineering behavior of the soil can be improved by this technique apart from resting the swell. This technique is a modification on the existing granular pile technique with an anchor plate beneath the granular pile that is connected to the foundation by means of an anchor rod or cable. Numerous scale model tests were discussed in this paper to understand the heave and pull-out behavior of Granular Pile-Anchor Foundation (GPAF) system. The effect of spacing was studied by using two granular piles at varied spacing. It was observed that the swell potential was reduced to about 68.09% for 50mm dia GPA, compared to the virgin expansive soil. The swell potential was found to be further reduced at twice the diameter of the pile spacing. The pull-out capacity was found to be increased by about 393% by providing a 50mm diameter GPA in the expansive soil.