November 19, 2015 19:58 RPS/Trim Size: 24cm x 17cm for Proceedings/Edited Book 023

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CONSOLIDATION CHARACTERISTIC

DURING THE EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION OVER SOFT
GROUND ASSISTED BY VACUUM CONSOLIDATION WITH
AIR-WATER SEPARATION SYSTEM

TOSHIAKI KOSAKA1 , NIPON TEERACHAIKULPANICH2 , HARUO SATO1

AND TAKAYUKI SUTO3
1 Dia Consultants Co., Ltd. 2-4-1Ichibanchou, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
2 Thai Maruyama Industry Co., Ltd. 8/95 Regent Home, Sanphawut Rd., Bangna,
Bangkok, Bangna, Bangkok 10260 Thailand
2 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yamagata Office,

4-3-55 Narisawa-Nishi, Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan

Vacuum consolidation is a ground improvement method for accelerating the con-

solidation settlement in soft soils. Moreover, it can enhance the ground stability for
rapid embankment construction and be used as surcharge load. This paper presents
the field observation of high embankment for road construction assisted by vacuum
consolidation with air-water separation system. The ground condition comprises of
peat and cohesive soil deposits alternated with thin sand layers deep to 25 m in the
special environment of inland sedimentation of Yamagata basin in Japan. Intensive
filed instruments were installed at the multiple subsoil layers for monitoring excess
pore water pressure and settlement characteristics during the construction. Finite
element analysis was performed to compare with the field observed settlement
and excess pore water pressure in order to evaluate the performance of prediction.
After termination of vacuum operation, surface settlement has been continuously
monitoring and compared between several surcharge conditions. As the results, it
can be concluded that the vacuum consolidation with air-water separation system
gave the reliable vacuum pressure, successfully enhanced the soft ground stability,
effectively consolidated the soft soil, and reduce the long-term settlement.

1. Introduction
The construction of road embankment over the soft ground inevitably encounters
with the problems of ground stability, excessive residual settlement and long-term
settlement. Vacuum consolidation method can be a countermeasure to overcome
those mentioned problem. The case histories of vacuum consolidation application in
Japan have been increasing recently. The concept of this method is to depressurize
atmospheric pressure inside the ground to induce the consolidation settlement while
total stress is remaining constructing but effective stress is increasing. Therefore, the
rate of embankment construction can be increased during the atmospheric depres-
surization inside the ground. Additionally, the amount of depressurized pressure
can be considered as a surcharge load applying to soils. The highway interchange
embankment in Tohoku, Japan was constructed over the soft ground assisted by
vacuum consolidation method. This paper presents the field observed data during
the construction of embankment assisted by vacuum consolidation with air-water
separation system, finite element analysis simulation to investigate the primary
consolidation characteristic, and long-term settlement after termination of vacuum
operation and removal of surcharge embankment.

Advances in Soft Ground Engineering.

Edited by C. F. Leung, T. Ku and S. C. Chian
Copyright c 2015 by ICSGE15 Organizers. Published by Research Publishing
ISBN: 978-981-09-7520-3 :: doi: 10.3850/978-981-09-7520-3 023 317
November 19, 2015 19:58 RPS/Trim Size: 24cm x 17cm for Proceedings/Edited Book 023

318 Toshiaki Kosaka et al.

Natural water content Unit weight Void ratio Consolidation yield stress Undrained shear strength
wn (%) Jt(t/m3) e0 pc(kN/m2) 2
Su (kN/m )
0 100 200 300 400 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 0 200 400 600 800 0 100 200 300 400
0

10
Depth (m)

15

20
Ac
Ap
Dc1
25
Dp1
Dc2
Dp2 P0 P0+'P
30

Fig. 1. Soil properties

2. Ground Condition
The soft ground at the construction site comprises of the alternating layers of peat
and clay. Figure 1 shows the soil properties versus depth. Peat shows natural water
content (wn ) between 100–300%, unit weight (γt ) between 1.1–1.5 kN/m3, and void
ratio (e0 ) between 1.5–6.5. Clay shows natural water content (wn ) between 50–100%,
unit weight (γt ) between 1.4–1.8 kN/m3, and void ratio (e0 ) between 1.0–2.5. Pre-
consolidation pressure and undrained shear strength (cu ) could between peat and clay
are not significantly different. The intermediated sand layer 1–2 m thick exists within
the improved depth. Moreover, the additional load by embankment and vacuum was
estimated toconsolidate the ground deep to 27.1 m.

3. VACUUM Consolidaiton System

Vacuum consolidation method was introduced by Kjellman (1952). The basic com-
ponent comprises of vertical drain, surface drainage layer, airtight membrane, and
vacuum pump. Vacuum consolidation system in Japan was also developed based
on Kjellman’s concept. Teerachaikulpanich et al. (2013) reported the vacuum pressure
inside the improvement area was gradually decreasing during vacuum operation in
many cases in Japan due to the elevation head difference between the vacuum pump
and the improved area after the consolidation settlement. The mentioned problem can
be solved by the concept of air-water separation proposed by Imai (2005). The newly
developed vacuum consolidation system with air-water separator named as Compact
Vacuum Consolidation (CVC). This system can maintain the vacuum pressure under
airtight sheet constantly at high level, average 80 kN/m2 , even the elevation head
difference after the consolidation settlement was reached over 100 kN/m2 , Kosaka
et al. (2011).

4. Construction
The vacuum consolidation area shown in Figure 2 was about 3,500 m2 (48 m × 73 m).
Vertical drains were installed to 25 m deep in square grid pattern at 1.0 m × 1.0 m
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Primary and Secondary Consolidation Characteristic During 319

Fig. 2. Location of instrumentation

interval. The designed embankment height was 9.1 m at the initial condition. The
consolidation settlement and surcharge embankment 2 m were accounted in the con-
struction. Thus, the total embankment construction thickness was 13.4 m at the final.
By using vacuum consolidation, the embankment construction rate was able to speed
up to 20 cm/day according to the design criterion. The vacuum pumping was initially
operated 20 days prior the start of embankment construction and terminated after
embankment construction was completed 60 days.

5. Instrumentation
The intensive field monitoring instrumentations were planned for the trail area during
the construction with the purpose of implementing the appropriated construction
control for the whole road construction. Basically, the monitoring items are including
vertical displacement, horizontal displacement,and excess pore water pressure. The
instrument locations were illustrated in Figure 2 including surface settlement plates,
surface movement stakes, subsurface settlement gauges and piezometers installed at
the mid of soil layers and several locations inside PVD.

6. Filed Observation
6.1. Vacuum pressure at pump and under airtight sheet
It is necessary to monitor the vacuum pressure at pump and under airtight sheet
to ensure the consolidation pressure. According to the design criteria, the vacuum
pressure measured under the airtight sheet shall not be lower than 70 kN/m2 .
Figure 3 (a) shows the vacuum pressure with time during the embankment construc-
tion. As the result, the average vacuum pressure measured under airtight sheet was
about 75 kN/m2 during the consolidation settlement.

6.2. Excess pore pressure

Figure 3(b) shows the excess pore water pressure with time. The negative excess
pore water pressure quickly generated between −41.3–65.4 kN/m2 during the initial
vacuum operation period. The induced positive excess pore water pressure become
larger than the induced negative excess pore water pressure after the embankment
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320 Toshiaki Kosaka et al.

Time (day)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

16 100

Vacuum pressure (kN/m )

2
14 90
Embankent Thickness

12 80
Design vacuum pressure
10 70
(m)

8 60
6 Embankent 50
4 Vacuum pressure at pump 40
Vacuum pressure under airtight sheet
2 30
(a)
0 20
40
Ac -1.8 m
20
As -5.4 m
Excess pore pressure

0 Ap -7.3 m
(kN/m2)

-20 Dc1 -11.0 m

-40 Dp1 -14.4 m
Dp2 -19.7 m
-60
Dc2 -21.7 m
-80 Dc2 -25.0 m
(b)
-100

0.0m
-50
-1.8m
-4.4m
-100 -8.1m
Settlement

-11.0m
-150 -13.6m
(cm)

Stop of vacuum pump

Finish of embanknent

-15.2m
Stat of embanknent

-200 -17.8m
-21.1m
-250 -22.4m
-27.7m
(c)
-300
0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Fig. 3. Field monitoring data

thickness was reached over 3.6 m. The maximum excess pore water pressure during
the construction was 28.2 kN/m2 . It can be observed that the excess pore water pres-
sure inside the intermediate sand layer at depth −5.4 m was high at 80.5 kN/m2 . The
leakage concern through the sand layer could be relief. Excess pore water pressures
were in negative side when the vacuum operation was terminated and gradually
increased to hydrostatic pressure afterward. It indicates that the excess pore water
pressure induced by embankment was completely dissipated during the vacuum
operation.

6.3. Settlement
The observed field settlements at the multiple depths were shown in Fig. 3(c). Total
surface settlement at the finish of embankment and at the termination of vacuum
operation was 196.9 cm and 235.4 cm, respectively. It could be observed the settlement
induced by vacuum load deep to Dp2layer (−21.4 m).

6.4. Vacuum pressure in PVD

The measurement of vacuum pressure at the pump and under the airtight sheet is
commonly performed in practice but the vacuum pressure along the depth of PVD is
not commonly measured in Japan. To investigate the distribution of vacuum pressure
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Primary and Secondary Consolidation Characteristic During 321

2
P ore wat er pressure (kN/m )
-100 0 100 200 300
0

10
Dept h (m)

15

20

in PVD
25 in Soil
Hydrostatic line
Depressurized at 70 kN/m2
30

Fig. 4. Pore water pressure profile prior the start of embankment construction

along PVD, the piezometers were installed inside PVD and in soil at the same depth.
Figure 4 shows the pore water pressure measured inside PVD and in soil after the
vacuum pump was operated 21 days. The reduction of pore water pressure inside
PVD was averaged at 77.6 kN/m2 . This value is closer to the average vacuum pressure
measured under airtight sheet. Therefore, the measured vacuum pressure under the
airtight sheet is reliable to ensure that the quality of vacuum pressure in the improved
area.

6.5. Stability during construction

The construction of embankment on the soft ground causes outward lateral move-
ment at the toe of slope inducing the instability. Matsuo and Kawamura (1977)
developed the chart to monitor the embankment stability based on many field
observed data. The lateral displacement at the toe of embankment and the surface
settlement are used for the stability chart. By using vacuum consolidation, the inward
lateral movement is induced under isotropic consolidation. On the contrary, the out-
ward movement is induced by the embankment load. From Fig. 3(a), the embankment

Lat eral dispplacement / Set t leement

2.5
Right sidee
Left side
Pj/Pf = 1.00
2.0
Pj/Pf = 0.99
Pj/Pf =0.8
Pj/Pf = 0.77
Set t lement (m)

1.5
Pj/Pf = 0.66

1.0

0.5

0.0
-0.4 -0.22 0.0 00.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Fig. 5. Stability control chart

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322 Toshiaki Kosaka et al.

Fi 6A
A l i l d l
Fig. 6. Analytical model

construction rate was 8.4 cm/day until the embankment thickness was 10 m and
rapidly increased to 47.1 cm/day afterward. From Figure 5, it can be seen that ratio of
lateral displacement and settlement during the embankment construction was lower
than zero at the end of construction. It is clearly confirmed that vacuum consolidation
successfully enhanced the stability during the embankment construction.

7. Primary Consolidation Analysis

7.1. Finite element method
To investigate the consolidation settlement characteristics, soil/water coupled finite
element DACSAR, Izuka and Ohta (1987) was used in 2D consolidation settlement
simulation. The vertical drain with embankment can be modeled by using mass
permeability method. Equivalent permeability coefficient shall be determined as the
input parameter. Takeyama et al. (2009) coded macro-element technique to DACSAR
in order to consider the negative pore water pressure in a vertical drain during vac-
uum consolidation without equivalent permeability coefficient. The analytical model
and input parameter are shown in Figure 6. The input parameters were obtained
from soil investigation and laboratory test data. Vacuum pressure was defined as
70 kN/m2 .

8. Secondary Consolidation Analysis

To investigate the secondary consolidation characteristic, the several different sur-
charge load conditions were investigated. Case 1 is obtained from the previous
embankment construction on similar ground without ground improvement. Case 2
is obtained from the trial embankment surcharged by vacuum consolidation and
embankment without the removal of surcharge embankment. Case 3 is Case 2 after
the removal of surcharge embankment 2 m thick after vacuum pump was terminated
180 days. Figure 8 shows the settlement with elapsed time in long-term measurement.
In case 1, the settlement was 202.7 cm when embankment was completed and 273.1
cm after the start of construction 1263 days. The further settlement tendency could
be observed. In case 2, the settlement was 196.9 cm when the embankment was
completed and 252.4 cm after the start of construction 187 days. It can be seen that
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Primary and Secondary Consolidation Characteristic During 323

Time (day) Time (day)

16 16
thicikness (m)

thicikness (m)
Embankment

Embankment
12 12
8 8
4 4
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
0 100

pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore
-50 50
-100 0
-4.4m -1.8m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100

pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore
-50 50
-100 0
-11.0m -5.4m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100
pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore

-50 50
-100 0
-13.6m -7.3m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100
pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore

-50 50
-100 0
-15.2m -11.0m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100
pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore

-50 50
-100 0
-17.8m -14.4m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100
pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore

-50 50
-100 0
-21.1m -19.7m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100
pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore

-50 50
-100 0
-22.4m -21.7m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 100
pressure (kN/m )
Settlement (cm)

2
Excess pore

-50 50
-100 0
-27.7m -25.0m
-150 FEM -50 FEM
-200 -100
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Fig. 7. Comparison of subsoil layer settlement and excess pore water pressure

the settlement rate was rapidly changed after the termination of vacuum pump
(unloading vacuum surcharge). In case 3, the settlement was 261.4 cm after the start
of construction 316 days (prior the removal of surcharge embankment) and 263.2 cm
after the start of construction 503 days. The settlement rate became smaller than Case 2
after the surcharge embankment was removed. Due to the different thickness of soil
compressible layers, the settlements were normalized into stain in order to estimate
the coefficient of secondary consolidation as shown in Figure 8. It can be seen that the
higher surcharge load gives the lower coefficient of secondary consolidation.
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324 Toshiaki Kosaka et al.

Time (day) Time (day)

Embankment thicikness (m)

Embankment thicikness (m)

14 14
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 Case 1 6 Case 1
4 Case 2 4 Case 2
2 Case 3 2 Case 3

0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1 10 100 1000 10000

0.0 0

-0.5 2
Settlement (m)

4
-1.0 Case 1 Case 1

Strain (%)
Case 2 6 Case 2
-1.5
Case 3 8 Case 3
HD= 1.4% HD= 3.6%
-2.0
10
HD= 0.7%
-2.5 12
-3.0 14
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1 10 100 1000 10000

Fig. 8. Long-term settlement/stain monitoring result of case 1, 2, and 3

1.0

0.8
Ohter similar cases
Reduction ratio (R=HDLHD

Case 2
0.6 Case 3

0.4

0.2

0.0
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

OCR

Fig. 9. R vs OCR modified after Fukazawa (1994)

Fukazawa et al. (1994) developed the chart relationship between the reduction
ratio (R) of coefficient of secondary consolidation versus over consolidation ratio
(OCR). Figure 9 shows R versus OCR obtained from this study. R of case 2 and 3
was fallen in the lower bound of the chart which is considered to a good performance.
OCR about 1.32 is the maximum curvature of the reduction effect by the surcharge.
It is suggested to use this value in the design to minimize the long-term settlement.
Consequently, it can be concluded that the use of the vacuum consolidation as the
surcharge is effectively reduce the long-term settlement and reliable.

9. Conclustion
Vacuum consolidation with air-water separation system was utilized for the road
construction on the soft ground to enhance the stability during the embankment
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Primary and Secondary Consolidation Characteristic During 325

construction and being as a surcharge load for consolidation. The primary and
secondary consolidation characteristics were observed and verified based on the
field observed data and finite element analysis in order to investigate the loading
and unloading performance of vacuum consolidation and surcharge embankment.
It was found that the vacuum consolidation could provide the stability during the
embankment construction by inducing the inward lateral movement against the out-
ward movement very well. Total lateral displacement after the completion of embank-
ment construction was inward movement. The field observed settlement and excess
pore water pressure of multiple subsoil layers indicated that the vacuum pressure
effectively distributed along the vertical drain. Finite element analysis showed the
good agreement with the field observed data. The consolidation pressure induced by
vacuum pressure of 70 kN/m2 is expectable in practice. The coefficient of secondary
consolidation was reduced about 80% at OCR = 1.32 after the removal of vacuum
and embankment surcharge which is the optimized value. Consequently, it can be
concluded that vacuum consolidation with air-water separation system gave a good
performance in order to enhance stability and control the lateral outward movement
induced by embankment, effectively consolidated the soil during primary consol-
idation and reduced the long-term settlement during the secondary consolidation
after the removal of vacuum surcharged by termination of vacuum operation. The
combination of vacuum and surcharge embankment is also effective to reduce the
coefficient of secondary consolidation in practice.

References
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