Experimental study on soil improvement with stone columns and granular blankets

Abstract

Stone column is one of the soil stabilizing methods that is used to increase bearing capacity and decrease the settlement of soft soils. Reinforced and unreinforced granular blankets are now being utilized to overcome the problems of soft soils. In this research, the bearing capacity of stone columns, granular blanket, and a combination of both methods in reinforced and unreinforced modes were studied using scaled physical models. Results show that using granular blanket, stone column, and combination of both improves bearing capacity of soft soils. Using geogrid as the reinforcement of granular blankets and geotextile as stone-column encasement increases the efficiency of granular blankets and stone columns significantly. Additionally, in the case of using geotextile around the stone column, the stress concentration ratio of the stone column will increase as well as its rigidity and bearing capacity.