Vibrocompaction and Vibrolfotation: procedure, history, suitable types of soils and aims

Vibrocompaction (VC) and vibroflotation (VF) are methods of ground improvement. They are used on
granular soils to increase their bearing capacity and strength. This is done by applying cyclic
horizontal vibrations in the ground which leads to particle rearrangement, an increase the shear
strength and a reduction in compressibility and void ratio. The compaction device, called vibroflot or
depth vibrator, consists of an eccentric weight within a steel tubular casing and is driven by an
electrical or hydraulic motor, which causes the vibrations. VC and VF are often used as synonymous
to describe the same technique but technically, if the weight is driven vertically, the method is VC,
and if it is driven horizontally it is VF. The procedure is as follows: the vibrator is lowered into the soil
under its own weight with the help of flushing water until it
reaches the designed depth; the vibrator is then activated
and is maintained until the power consumption of the vibrator
reaches pre-determined amperage; the device is lifted of
0.5m - 1m and compaction procedure is repeated until it
reaches the surface. The procedure is shown in figure 1. It
can be necessary to compact the surface to a depth of 0.5m
with a surface compacter and also to backfill the hole
Figure 1: Vibrocompaction procedure
produced by the method with material which is then
compacted as part of the process.
The first application of this technique dates back to 1936 when Johann Keller inserted a vibrator into a borehole to increase
the density of the granular soil for the foundation of a large building in Nrenberg, Germany. Since then improvements to the
device, motors and cranes have been made and the method is now used all over the world. Especially important
developments were improvements that avoided the need of a borehole and the finding, in 1942, that the method is not suitable
for silty sands. Vibrocompaction can only be used on non-cohesive soils with a percentage of fines less than 10-15%.
Furthermore, to assess the compactability of the ground, not only the particle size distribution, but also the data from CPT
tests should be used to give a continuous soil profile with information on strength and compressibility. For this purpose two
charts can be used which plot cone resistance (qc,cpt) against friction ratio (qf) from Massarsch (1991) and qc,cpt against sleeve
friction (qs) from Eslami and Fellenius (1997).
This technique can be used to solve a variety of issues. These include increasing the bearing capacity (qb) and strength of the
soil (), improving the ability of the soil to carry dynamic loads, reducing the need for deep foundations, increasing the longterm performance of the treated ground and where deep foundations cant be avoided, the VC of the subsoil can help to
achieve a compaction index that favours piling. In addition, it reduces total and differential settlements to acceptable
magnitudes, mitigates liquefaction in earthquake zones, and reduces permeability for earthworks foundations.

Bibliography
Kirsh, F and Kirsh K. (2010) Ground Improvement by Deep Vibratory Methods. Taylor and Francis, Hoboken.
Kirsh, K. & Moseley, M. P. and Kirsh K. (2004). Ground improvement. 2nd Edition. New York, Taylor and Francis. pp. 67.
Massarsch, K.R. and Fellenius, B.H. (2005). Chapter 19: Deep Vibratory Compaction of Granular Soils. In: Indraratna, B. and
Chu J. Ground Improvement Case Histories. Kidlington, Oxford: ELSEVIER Ltd. 539-562.