Geotechnical Testing Journal, Vol. 27, No.

3
Paper ID GTJ11387
Available online at: www.astm.org

B. R. Phanikumar,1 Radhey S. Sharma,2 A. Srirama Rao,3 and M. R. Madhav4

Granular Pile Anchor Foundation (GPAF) System

for Improving the Engineering Behavior of
Expansive Clay Beds

ABSTRACT: Several innovative foundation techniques have been suggested for reducing the detrimental heave of foundations in expansive clays.
This paper presents another innovative technique in the form of a granular pile anchor-foundation (GPAF) system for arresting heave and for
improving the overall engineering behavior of expansive clay beds. In the GPAF system, the foundation is anchored at the bottom of the granular
pile to an anchor plate through an anchor rod. As a result, heave of the foundation is reduced. The laboratory model tests using this new concept of
the GPAF system revealed that the heave of the expansive clay beds was reduced by about 96 %. The development of final heave was faster in the
case of the expansive clay beds reinforced with the GPAF system. The undrained strength of the clay surrounding the granular pile anchor improved
by about 20 %. The tests on two-group granular pile anchors indicated that heave was reduced to a minimum value when the spacing between the
granular pile anchors was kept at twice the pile diameter. The compressive load response of the expansive clay bed reinforced with granular pile
anchors also improved. The pull-out load of the granular pile anchors increased with increasing diameter and the relative density of the pile.

KEYWORDS: expansive clays, innovative foundations, granular pile anchor foundation (GPAF), heave, relative density, pull-out load

Introduction (GPAF) system is presented. The results of the tests showed that,
while the heave of the expansive clay beds reduced by as much
Expansive soils undergo detrimental volume changes corre-
as 96 %, the rate of heave improved. The shear strength of the
sponding to changes in moisture content. They swell on taking up
clay surrounding the granular pile increased. The compressive load
water during monsoon and shrink because of evaporation of water in
response of the expansive clay bed reinforced with granular pile
dry seasons. Furthermore, upon wetting during monsoon, an expan-
anchors also improved.
sive soil can swell or exhibit collapse compression depending upon
The state-of-the-art of granular piles or stone columns reveals
stress and suction history of the soil (Alonso et al. 1990; Sharma
that their use as a ground-improvement technique is so far restricted
1998; Sharma and Wheeler 2000; Wheeler et al. 2003). This dual
only to soft clays and loose cohesionless deposits. Granular piles
swell-shrink behavior of expansive soils causes distress in the struc-
have been used during the last few decades as a technique to im-
tures founded in them such as foundations, pavements, canal beds
prove soft cohesive soils and loose cohesionless deposits (Thorburn
and linings, and residential buildings. The annual cost of damage
and McVicar 1968; Greenwood 1970; Hughes and Withers 1974;
to the civil engineering structures is estimated at £150 million in
Priebe 1976; Aboshi et al. 1979; Rao and Bhandari 1979; Datye
the UK, $1000 million in the United States, and many billions of
and Nagaraju 1981; Rao 1982; Ranjan and Rao 1983; and Ranjan
pounds worldwide (Gourley et al. 1993).
1989).
Different foundation techniques have been suggested for mitigat-
A mere granular pile will not be able to resist the uplift force
ing the heave behavior of expansive clays. Some of the foundation
exerted by the expansive soil on the foundation, which is tensile
practices that are in vogue are sand cushion (Satyanarayana 1966),
in nature. On the other hand, if the foundation is anchored at the
the cohesive nonswelling (CNS) layer (Katti 1978), belled piers,
bottom of the granular pile to a mild steel plate or a stiff geogrid
friction piers apart from physical alteration, and chemical stabiliza-
through a mild steel rod, the granular pile will be tension-resistant
tion (Chen 1975). This paper presents another innovative technique
and able to counteract the uplift force exerted on the foundations. In
in the form of the granular pile anchor foundation (GPAF) for re-
a granular pile anchor, the resistance to uplift is developed mainly
ducing heave behavior and improving the engineering behavior of
due to:
expansive clay beds. A laboratory model study carried out on expan-
sive clay beds reinforced with the granular pile anchor foundation
r The weight of the granular pile.
r Uplift resistance due to friction mobilized along the pile-
Received April 12, 2002; accepted for publication June 27, 2003; published soil interface, which precludes the possibility of detrimental
April 21, 2004. heave.
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bradford, Bradford, West
Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK.
2 Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Town
Model tests were conducted in the laboratory on reinforced ex-
Engineering Building, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011. pansive clay beds in which granular pile anchors have been installed.
3 Department of Civil Engineering, JNTU College of Engineering, Kakinada
533 003, India. In small-scale model tests, the weight of the granular pile anchor
4 Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur may be neglected. Naturally, available stone and coarse sand were
208 016, India. used for the installation of granular piles. Results of model studies

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2 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL

indicated the efficacy of the granular pile anchors as an effective TABLE 1—Index properties of the soil.
foundation technique in expansive clays. This paper discusses the
tests and results. Specific gravity 2.73
Gravel, % 0
Sand, % 14
Experimental Program Silt, % 44
Clay, % 42
A series of laboratory model tests was conducted in this experi- Liquid limit, % 79
mental program. The aim of this experimental study was to explore Plastic limit, % 26
the efficacy of the novel concept of the granular pile anchor foun- Shrinkage limit, % 10
Plasticity index, % 53
dation (GPAF) system as an innovative foundation technique in USCS classification CH
expansive clays. An extensive laboratory program was conducted Free swell index, FSI ( %) 190
to study the efficacy of the GPAF system in improving the engi-
neering behavior of expansive clay beds. The heave behavior of
TABLE 2—Variables in respect of granular piles.
the expansive clay bed reinforced with GPAF was studied by con-
ducting 81 heave tests. The compressive load response was investi- Length, Diameter, Relative
gated by performing three load tests. Pull-out resistance of granular L g (mm) Dg (mm) density, Dr
pile anchors was also examined. In total, six pull-out tests were
300 30 0.5
conducted. 400 40 0.6
500 50 0.7
Test Materials
The expansive clay used in this investigation was collected from 1. The initial water content (w i ) of the expansive clay was kept
Amalapuram of the State of Andhra Pradesh, India, from a depth constant at 14 % in all the tests, but the initial dry unit weight
of about 1.5–2.0 m below the ground level. Table 1 summarizes the (γdi ) was varied as 13, 14, and 15 kN/m3 . The variables studied
index properties of the expansive clay. The granular material that in respect of granular piles are shown in Table 2. Using all
was used for the installation of the granular piles was a mixture these variables in different combinations, a total of 81 tests
of 20 % stone chips whose particle size ranged between 6 and were conducted for studying the heave behavior. The height
10 mm and 80 % coarse sand with size varying between 2.4 and of the expansive clay bed and the granular pile anchor were
4.8 mm. The stone chips were crushed basalt and sub-rounded to the same in all the tests. A square mild steel plate of size 100
sub-angular in shape. It was found from pilot studies that, at this by 100 mm was used as the surface footing in the heave tests.
proportion of 20:80, the granular material could be compacted over 2. As shown in Fig. 1, a sand layer was laid at the bottom of the
a wide range of relative density values, as this proportion gave test tank and leveled with a rammer. Four metal sheets of equal
the largest difference between the maximum and minimum void width (290 mm) were pushed into the sand layer to a depth of
ratios. about 30 mm so as to form a square box at a uniform distance
The specific gravity, G, of the granular pile material was deter- of 10 mm from the sides of the tank. This gap of 10 mm was
mined using a pycnometer. The maximum and minimum void ratios filled with sand to form vertical sand packing for saturating the
of the granular pile material were determined from the pilot tests. expansive clay bed quickly. A casing pipe of diameter equal to
The natural void ratio, eo , of the granular pile material was calcu- that of the granular pile was pushed vertically into the bottom
lated by choosing the relative density (Dr ) at which the granular sand layer exactly at the center of the tank. A mild steel rod
pile was to be compacted. of 8 mm diameter, with a mild steel circular plate of diameter
equal to that of the granular pile fastened to it, was inserted
vertically into the casing pipe so that the plate would be on the
Variables Studied and Procedure of Compaction
top of the bottom sand layer.
Tests were performed in metal tanks 300 by 300 by 900 mm. The 3. The weight of the expansive soil required was divided into a
wall thickness of the metal tank was 1 mm. The various variables convenient number of equal parts, each part having to be com-
studied are as detailed below: pacted to the predetermined height, ensuring that the desired

FIG. 1—Experimental set-up showing granular pile anchor foundation (GPAF) system.

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unit weight was attained. Each part of the soil was carefully
placed in the tank such that it did not enter the casing pipe
and compacted with a rammer. The expansive clay bed was
compacted in layers of 50-mm thickness. The height of the
compacted layer was checked. The amount of the granular
pile material required for the particular relative density was
taken and divided into a convenient number of equal parts,
each part having to be compacted to the required height that
ensured uniform relative density.
4. During the process of compaction, the casing pipe and the
metal sheets, used for forming the space for sand packing, were
also withdrawn gradually. Sand was poured into the space so
that continuity of sand packing was maintained. The process of
compacting the expansive clay bed, the granular pile, and the
sand packing was continued till the clay bed and the granular
pile were compacted to the same height. When the compaction
was over, the metal sheets and the casing pipe were withdrawn
completely. A sand layer, 10 mm thick, was laid over the sur-
face of the compacted expansive clay bed. The surface footing
was fastened to the top end of the mild steel rod.
Heave Tests
The expansive clay bed, reinforced with the granular pile an-
chor foundation (GPAF), was wetted by adding water continuously.
Heave was monitored up to the point of saturation of the expansive
clay bed. Saturation was understood to have been reached when
there was no further heave of the GPAF system. A heave-time plot
confirmed saturation when the curve became asymptotical with the
time axis and equilibrium has been assumed to be attained. The
final heave was determined. Heave was determined at different ra-
dial distances from the center of the granular pile anchor also. Water
contents of samples collected from various depths of the expansive
clay bed were determined.
Strength Tests
For the determination of undrained shear strength, cu , of the clay,
vane shear tests were conducted on samples obtained at different
depths of the saturated expansive clay bed in both the reinforced
and the unreinforced conditions. Undrained shear strength, cu , was
directly obtained from the results of the vane shear tests. Penetra-
tion tests were also conducted on the expansive clay bed in both
reinforced and unreinforced conditions. A Proctor needle, to which
a shoe of diameter 20 mm was attached, was kept vertically on
the clay bed and pushed into the soil up to depths of 75, 150, and
225 mm and the penetration force-read. The penetration resistance
was measured at different depths and radial distances from the cen-
ter of the granular pile anchor.
Effect of Spacing of Granular Pile Anchors
To study the effect of spacing of granular pile anchors on heave
behavior of the expansive clay beds, two granular pile anchors were
installed at different spacing in the expansive clay bed. Heave was
measured and compared with that measured when only one granular
pile anchor was installed. The initial dry unit weight and water
content of the soil were 13 kN/m3 and 14 %, respectively. The
diameter and length of the piles were 30 and 300 mm, respectively,
and the relative density was 60 %. The spacing was varied in terms
of the granular pile anchor diameter as 2Dg and 3Dg . The clay bed
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SHARMA ET AL. ON GRANULAR PILE-ANCHOR FOUNDATION 3
was saturated and heave measured at different radial distances from
the centers of the granular pile anchors.
Compressive Load Tests
To assess and compare the load-settlement behavior of expansive
clay beds alone (unreinforced), granular pile anchors alone and
composite ground (granular pile and clay together) load tests were
conducted by placing the bearing plate on:
r The saturated expansive clay bed alone.
r The granular pile anchor alone.
r Both the clay and the granular pile anchor (the bearing plate
resting on both).
In all the load tests, the dry unit weight and the initial water
content of the expansive clay bed were kept constant at 14 kN/m3
and 14 %, respectively. Load was applied after complete saturation
of the expansive clay bed. Granular piles of length 300 mm, diameter
40 mm, and relative density 60 % were used for conducting load
tests on the granular pile anchor alone and the expansive clay bed
reinforced with granular pile anchor.
In the case of a load test on the expansive clay bed alone, a
bearing plate of 40 mm was used. In a load test in which the granular
pile anchor alone was tested, a bearing plate of diameter equal to
that of the granular pile anchor was used. In the case of a load
test on composite ground (expansive clay and granular pile anchor
together), a bearing plate of diameter 60 mm was used. The load was
applied in increments of 1/5 of the expected safe bearing capacity
in all the tests. The settlements of the plates under each increment
were measured with the help of dial gages of sensitivity 0.02 mm at
time intervals of 1, 2.25, 4, 6.25, 9, 16 and 25 min, and, thereafter, at
hourly intervals for 24 h. The tests were continued until a maximum
load of two times the safe bearing pressure was applied.
Pull-Out Tests on Granular Pile Anchors
When the foundation is anchored to a granular pile, the uplift
force exerted on the foundation by the swelling clay is resisted by
the friction offered by the granular pile-soil interface. Resistance to
pull-out force was measured by conducting pull-out tests on gran-
ular pile anchors embedded in expansive clay beds. Pull-out loads
were applied through a pulley system fastened to the tank (Fig. 2).
The loads were applied in increments of 10 % of the ultimate value,
and the corresponding upward movement was recorded. The tests
were continued until failure.
Measurement of Shear Parameters of the Granular
Pile-Clay Interface
Shear box tests were conducted compacting the granular material
and expansive clay in the lower and upper halves of the shear box,
respectively, for determining the shear parameters, c and φ , of the
granular pile-clay interface. The expansive clay was compacted at
the initial water content (w i ) and the required initial dry density
(γdi ). The granular material was compacted at the appropriate rel-
ative density (Dr ). The tests were conducted in the shear box of
size 60 by 60 by 20 mm. The clay sample was allowed to swell
completely before the shear test. Heave was monitored, and the
shear test conducted when there was no further swell. Shear tests
were conducted for evaluating the effect of friction mobilized at the
4 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL

FIG. 2—Experimental setup for pull-out test.

interface formed by the granular pile and the expansive clay on the The percentage reduction in heave, S R , was also determined as the
reduction of heave. ratio of reduction in heave to the original heave of the unreinforced
clay bed and is given by the equation

Discussion (S − S  )
SR = × 100 (2)
S
Heave Behavior of Expansive Clay Beds Reinforced with
Granular Pile Anchors Figure 4 shows the variation of the percent heave (S  ) of the rein-
forced expansive clay bed with L g /Dg ratio for a given length of the
The amount of heave and also the rate of heave were also deter- granular pile anchor. The percent heave decreases with decreasing
mined for a 300-mm-thick expansive clay bed (without any granular L g /Dg for a given pile length. As the diameter of the granular pile an-
pile anchor) compacted to a dry unit weight of 13 kN/m3 and water chor increases, the surface area increases, and, consequently, the re-
content of 14 %. The rate and amount of heave of the unreinforced sistance to upward force also increases, reducing the percent heave.
clay bed are compared with those of the clay bed reinforced with a Figure 5 shows the effect of the relative density on the percent
granular pile anchor. Figure 3 shows that the unreinforced expansive heave of the expansive clay bed reinforced with granular pile an-
clay bed attained a final heave of 9 % in nine days. However, the chors. The percent heave decreases with increasing relative density
heave of the expansive clay bed reinforced with the granular pile an- of the granular pile for a given L g /Dg ratio. The higher the relative
chor attained a reduced amount of heave of 1.15 % in a short period density, the denser will be the packing of the granular particles, and,
of three days. The expansive clay bed reinforced with the granular consequently, the resistance offered to heave will be high. The pa-
pile anchor adjusted quickly to changes in moisture and attained rameters c and φ of the granular pile-clay interface as determined
saturation quickly because of the high hydraulic conductivity of the from shear box tests are summarized in Table 3. The increase in the
granular pile. parameter φ with increasing relative density suggests that percent
The % heave, S, is the ratio of increase in thickness of the expan-
sive clay bed to the initial thickness and expressed as
TABLE 3—Shear parameters of the granular pile-clay interface.

H
S= × 100 (1) γdi (kN/m3 ) 13 14 15
H
Dr , % 50 60 70 50 60 70 50 60 70
where
H is the heave, and H is the initial thickness of clay bed.
c (kN/m2 ) 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
The percent heave obtained on reinforcing the clay beds with gran- φ (degrees) 14 18 26 24 26 28 28 29 30
ular pile anchors is denoted as S  .

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 SHARMA ET AL. ON GRANULAR PILE-ANCHOR FOUNDATION 5

FIG. 3—Rate of heave.

FIG. 4—Effect of length to diameter ratio on percent heave for a given length.

heave could be reduced significantly in the case of expansive clay
beds reinforced with granular pile anchors of higher relative den-
sity, as the frictional resistance offered by the granular pile to the
swelling of the surrounding soil would be high. For a field appli-
cation of the granular pile anchors in expansive clays, the drained
strength parameters of c and φ would be relevant as it takes a long
time for the expansive clay bed to undergo equilibrium swell against
a frictional porous medium such as the granular pile anchor.
Table 4 summarizes the values of the percent heave (S  ) of the
expansive clay bed reinforced with granular pile anchors for various
dry unit weights of the clay, different lengths (L g ) and diameters
(Dg ), and relative densities (Dr ) of the granular pile. For a given di-
ameter of the granular pile, S  decreases with increasing length and,
for a given length of the granular pile, it decreases with increasing
diameter of the pile because the frictional resistance increases with
increasing surface area of the granular pile, reducing the heave. For
a given surface area, however, the effect of the diameter of the gran-
ular pile is more than that of the length. For a dry unit weight of
the soil of 14 kN/m3 , a relative density of the granular pile of 60 %,
and, for a surface area of 120π cm2 , the heave was 1.41 %, when
the diameter of the pile was 30 mm and length was 400 mm. The
corresponding heave is 1.15 % when the diameter and the length
are 40 mm and 300 mm, respectively. This shows that shorter but
wider granular piles are more efficient in reducing heave than longer
piles. Heave could be reduced to negligible values of 0.25, 0.62, and
0.75 %, respectively, for the different dry unit weights of the clay
beds (13, 14, and 15 kN/m3 ), whereas the heave of the unreinforced
clay beds was, respectively, 6, 9, and 14 %.
Strength Behavior of Expansive Clay Reinforced with Granular
Pile Anchors
Table 5 shows the values of undrained shear strength (cu ) of the
expansive clay in both reinforced and unreinforced conditions. The

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6 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL
FIG. 5—Variation of percent heave with relative density of granular pile.
undrained shear strength of the reinforced expansive clay was higher
than that of the unreinforced clay. In the case of the unreinforced
clay, heave was not controlled as there was no resisting force. Full
heave occurred, resulting in the decrease of the density of the clay
bed. However, in the case of the expansive clay reinforced with
a granular pile anchor, heave was controlled, and the density of
the clay surrounding the granular pile anchor was high, leading to
higher values of cu .
Figure 6 shows the variation of penetration resistance measured
in an expansive clay bed in both reinforced and unreinforced con-
ditions. The penetration resistances of the clay bed reinforced by
the granular pile anchor were higher than those of the unreinforced
clay bed. However, the penetration resistance increases with depth
in both the conditions. A maximum increase of about 20 % was
observed in the penetration resistance. The same reason for the
increase in cu can be attributed to the increase in the penetration
resistance also.
Effect of Spacing of Granular Pile Anchors on Heave
Figure 7 shows the variation of heave with radial distance from
the center of the granular pile anchor. The figure shows the heave
behavior of the clay bed at different radial distances from the center
of the granular pile anchor when only one granular pile anchor was
installed. Heave increased with increasing radial distance, attaining
a maximum value equal to that of the unreinforced clay bed at a
radial distance of 35 mm. Reduction of heave was observed only in
the vicinity of the granular pile anchor. The influence of the GPAF
was up to radial distance of 35 mm in this particular case.
Figure 8 shows the variation of heave with radial distance (in
terms of D) from the centers of two granular pile anchors installed in
the expansive clay bed. The figure shows the heave variation when
the two granular pile anchors were installed at different spacing
(2Dg and 3Dg ). Heave increased with radial distance for a given
spacing. However, the amount of heave decreased when the spacing
between the granular pile anchors decreased. At a spacing equal to
twice the diameter of the granular pile anchor, the amount heave
was found to be as low as 1.0 %. This shows that the presence of
a second granular pile anchor reduced the amount of heave further
at a given radial distance within the zone of influence. This also
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indicates that, if the granular pile anchors are installed at a spacing
of two diameters of the granular pile anchor, the amount of heave
could be reduced to an insignificantly low value. However, when
the granular pile anchors were installed at a spacing of either 2Dg or
3Dg , the amount of heave (6 %) recorded on an unreinforced clay
bed was obtained at a radial distance of 50 mm.
Compressive Load Response
Figure 9 shows the results of the load tests in the form of Curves
1, 2, and 3 showing the loading intensity-settlement behavior of the
clay bed, of the granular pile, and of composite ground. Curve 1
indicates a clear failure in the case of the load test on the clay bed,
whereas Curves 2 and 3 show an improved engineering behavior of
the granular pile anchor and of the composite ground. For a given
settlement, the loading intensity on the granular pile alone was more
than that on the composite ground, which, in turn, was more than
that on the clay bed alone. When the granular pile anchor alone was
loaded, a higher amount of stress was resisted because of the high
value of the parameter, φ, of the granular material. In the case of the
composite ground, the stress would be shared between the saturated
clay and the granular pile. As a result, a lower level of stress was
recorded. For a given settlement of 25 mm, the loading intensity
of the unreinforced clay bed was about 170 kN/m2 only, whereas,
for the composite ground, the loading intensity was 450 kN/m2 ,
showing a 2.5 times improvement over the unreinforced clay
bed.
Pull-Out Behavior of Granular Pile Anchors
The results of pull-out tests on the granular pile anchors are shown
in Figs. 10 and 11. Figure 10 shows the pull-out load-deformation
curves of granular pile anchors. The pile anchors were of equal
diameter (30 mm) but of increasing lengths (250, 300, and 350 mm).
The granular material was compacted to a relative density of 60 %
in all the granular pile anchors, reinforcing an expansive clay bed
of initial dry unit weight of 12 kN/m3 . The granular pile anchors
were pulled out after saturation.
The effect of the length of the pile is reflected in the loads required
to cause an upward movement of 30 mm in all the piles. The load
increased with increasing length of the pile for an upward movement
of 30 mm. For a pile of length of 250 mm, the load for 30-mm
upward movement was about 250 N, whereas, for a pile of length
of 350 mm, it was equal to about 510 N, indicating an increase of
about 100 %.
Figure 9 shows the load-deformation results of pull-out tests on
granular pile anchors compacted at relative densities of 50, 60,
and 70 %. The ultimate pull-out capacity increased with increasing
relative density of the granular piles. The percent increase in the
pull-out load when the relative density was increased from 50 to
70 % was about 30 % for an upward movement of 30 mm. Increasing
relative density enhances the resistance to pull-out load as reflected
in the heave behavior of the reinforced expansive clay beds, also.
Conclusions
An extensive laboratory program was conducted to study the effi-
cacy of a new technique of granular pile anchor foundation (GPAF)
in controlling heave and improving the engineering behavior of
expansive clay beds. The following are the main conclusions:
 SHARMA ET AL. ON GRANULAR PILE-ANCHOR FOUNDATION 7

TABLE 4—% Heave of the expansive clay bed reinforced by granular pile anchors.

(a) % Heave for γdi = 13 kN/m3 and wi = 14 % (Original % heave = 6 %)

Dr 0.50 0.60 0.70
L g (m) Dg (mm) Dg (mm) Dg (mm)
30 40 50 30 40 50 30 40 50

0.30 1.26 0.95 0.73 1.15 0.82 0.60 1.04 0.70 0.48
0.40 1.08 0.78 0.63 0.95 0.65 0.50 0.82 0.52 0.38
0.50 0.87 0.65 0.50 0.75 0.52 0.38 0.62 0.40 0.25
(b) Swell potential at γdi = 14 kN/m3 and wi = 14 % (Original % heave = 9 %)

Dr 0.50 0.60 0.70

L g (m) Dg (mm) Dg (mm) Dg (mm)
30 40 50 30 40 50 30 40 50

0.30 1.75 1.25 0.92 1.60 1.15 0.87 1.44 1.04 0.80
0.40 1.52 1.12 0.86 1.41 1.04 0.80 1.30 0.96 0.72
0.50 1.35 1.00 0.81 1.24 0.94 0.76 1.14 0.82 0.62
(c) Swell potential at γdi = 15 kN/m3 and wi = 14 % (Original % heave = 14 %)

Dr 0.50 0.60 0.70

L g (m) Dg (mm) Dg (mm) Dg (mm)
30 40 50 30 40 50 30 40 50

0.30 2.25 1.70 1.35 2.10 1.60 1.25 1.98 1.50 1.15
0.40 1.95 1.45 1.16 1.82 1.35 1.05 1.70 1.26 0.95
0.50 1.65 1.20 0.95 1.55 1.10 0.85 1.45 1.00 0.75

TABLE 5—Undrained shear strength, cu in kN/m2 (w f is the final water

content).

Unreinforced Reinforced
Dry Unit Clay Bed Clay Bed
Weight, γdi
(kN/m3 ) cu w f (%) cu w f (%)

13.00 15 45.00 18 41.00

14.00 18 42.00 21 36.00
15.00 21 40.00 25 31.10

FIG. 7—Influence zone of the granular pile anchor.

FIG. 6—Variation of penetration resistance with depth.
1. Heave of expansive clay beds could be reduced significantly
by reinforcing them with granular pile anchors. This can be
attributed to the frictional resistance offered to uplift force by
the granular piles at the pile-clay interface. Heave of an expan-
sive clay bed decreased with increase in the surface area of the
granular pile anchor. For a given surface area, the increase of
the pile diameter resulted in greater reduction of the amount
of heave than the increase in the pile length. A maximum of
96 % reduction in the heave of the expansive clay beds was
obtained.
2. The rate of heave also became faster on the installation of gran-
ular pile anchors in the expansive clay beds. Expansive clay
beds reinforced with granular pile anchors adjusted quickly to
changes in moisture because of the higher hydraulic conduc-
tivity of the granular material. The time period required for
attaining the final amount of heave in the case of reinforced
clay bed was one third of that for the unreinforced clay bed.

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8 GEOTECHNICAL TESTING JOURNAL
FIG. 8—Variation of percent heave with radial distance for different
spacing.
FIG. 9—Stress-settlement curves.
FIG. 10—Influence of length of granular pile anchor on the pull-out
behavior.
3. Increase in the relative density of the granular material in the
granular pile anchor enhanced reduction of heave. This can be
attributed to the increased frictional resistance of the granular
pile with increase in its relative density.
4. The undrained shear strength of the expansive clay bed re-
inforced with granular piles also increased as evidenced by
vane shear tests and Proctor needle penetration tests. A max-
imum increase of about 20 % was observed in the undrained
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FIG. 11—Effect of relative density on the pull-out behavior.
strength of the expansive clay bed as well as in the penetration
resistance.
5. Heave of the expansive clay bed increased with increasing
radial distance from the center of the granular pile anchor.
The amount of heave decreased at a given radial distance with
decreasing spacing between two granular pile anchors. If the
granular pile anchors are installed at a spacing of 2 diameters
of the granular pile anchor, the amount of heave could be
reduced to an insignificantly low value.
6. The load-carrying capacity of the expansive clay bed increased
with the installation of granular pile anchors. The loading in-
tensity for a settlement of 25 mm in the case of the reinforced
clay bed increased by 2.5 times over that for the same settle-
ment in the case of the unreinforced clay bed.
7. The pull-out capacity of the granular pile anchor increased
with increasing length of the pile anchor and relative density
of the granular material. For a pile of length of 250 mm, the
load for 30-mm upward movement was about 250 N, whereas
for a pile of length of 350 mm, it was equal to about 510 N,
indicating an increase of about 100 %. The percent increase
in the pull-out load when the relative density was increased
from 50 to 70 % was about 30 % for an upward movement of
30 mm.
8. It may be mentioned here that the proposed granular pile an-
chor system has yet to be applied in field conditions. The
reduction in heave and the rate of heave need to be stud-
ied in situ before the GPAF is recommended for use in situ.
While in an in situ deep soil profile complete swell is un-
likely, there is a likelihood of the soil stratum getting saturated
with the provision of a group of free-draining granular pile
anchors.
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