Chapter 8 - Deep Compaction of Granular Fills in a Land Reclamation Project by Dynamic and Vibratory Compaction Techniques

Abstract

Loose granular soils placed during a land reclamation process require densification to enhance their engineering properties. In a mega-land reclamation project in the Republic of Singapore, techniques such as Müller resonance compaction (MRC), vibroflotation, and dynamic compaction were employed to densify the land reclamation sand fills. The efficacy of densification was subsequently verified by cone penetration tests (CPT). The MRC technique results in the sand mass being rearranged due to the application of high vibrating energies. The vibroflotation technique results in a densified column of soil forming at and surrounding the probe point. The dynamic compaction technique results in the centroid point being the most compacted point, provided the selected spacing is efficient. The aging effect in the vibroflotation technique was found to be significant, in contrast to the MRC and dynamic compaction techniques. The usage of these three deep compaction techniques was found to be effective for the densification of deep deposits of loose sand fills in this mega-land reclamation project.