Experimental Evaluation of Encased Stone Column Technique for Liquefaction Mitigation

Abstract

The present paper investigates the effectiveness of using geotextile encased stone column for mitigating the liquefaction phenomenon in saturated sandy deposits. Reduced scale 1-g model tests were conducted using a uniaxial shake table to study the behavior of loose saturated sand reinforced with encased stone columns when subjected to harmonic (sinusoidal) loading. Additionally, the response of saturated sand reinforced with stone column, with and without geotextile encasement is also studied and compared. The test results show that the installation of stone column in the saturated loose sand increases the liquefaction resistance of sand. The presence of geotextile allows quicker dissipation of pore water which results in an improved liquefaction resistance of sand. Moreover, the acceleration amplitude influences the response of both the unreinforced and reinforced sand. The increase in acceleration amplitude increases the magnitude of excess pore water pressure ratio. Furthermore, the presence of stone column also reduces the settlement of the shallow foundation.