Experimental Evaluation of Recycled Aggregate Porous Concrete Piles for Soft Ground Improvement

Abstract

The use of sand compaction pile or gravel compaction pile is nowadays a common approach for soft ground improvement. In this article, a recycled aggregate porous concrete pile has been developed by replacing natural aggregates with recycled aggregates to overcome issues related to bulging failure or reduced section geometries. Such issues may arise during installation and during the early stages of operation. In addition, the proposed approach utilizes recycled aggregates instead of natural materials. To investigate the applicability of the recycled aggregate porous concrete pile method as a ground improvement technique, a series of laboratory model consolidation tests was performed on soft clay soil reinforced with sand compaction pile, gravel compaction pile, and recycled aggregate porous concrete pile, respectively. The results indicated that the settlement reduction effect of recycled aggregate porous concrete pile was significantly higher than the sand compaction pile and gravel compaction pile methods. The stress sharing ratio from the experimental program showed good agreement with those calculated by elasticity theory. Comparative analyses of the recycled aggregate porous concrete pile versus sand compaction pile and gravel compaction pile approaches, under the same replacement area ratio and surcharge pressure, showed significantly improved consolidation time, settlement reduction, and stress sharing effect.