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Abstract: Fully drained, load-controlled laboratory model tests and their numerical simulations are presented. The tests were performed on
No other uses without permission. Copyright (c) 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers. All rights reserved.
adequately instrumented, small scale physical models of floating stone column group foundations placed in slurry deposited clayey soil beds
with known effective stress states. Effect of various group foundation parameters, such as area ratio, length of columns, relative density, and
moisture content of the column material is evaluated. The numerical analyses consist of three-dimensional, elastoplastic, finite-element
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analyses of the model foundation. In the analyses, the clayey soil behavior is represented by the modified Cam-clay model, and the stone
column and mat are represented by the elastic, fully plastic Mohr-Coulomb constitutive relationship. The finite-element analysis was suc-
cessful in predicting the model test results with reasonable accuracy. The results are presented in nondimensional form. The major foundation
parameters affecting the group response were identified as area ratio, normalized column length, Young’s modulus of column, overconso-
lidation ratio, initial geostatic stresses, and clayey soil parameters. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000552. © 2011 American Society
of Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Stone columns; Foundations; Model tests; Finite element method; Clays.
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2011.137:1265-1274.
Author keywords: Stone columns; Clayey soil; Foundation; Model tests; Finite-element analysis.
9 10 9 13 150 Moist 50 60
10 20 13 13 150 Moist 50 60 The model tests have not been performed with any particular proto-
11 30 21 13 150 Moist 50 60 type in mind but are shown as a generic study. The model test setup
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12 10 9 13 100 Dry 80 60 was designed on similar lines as done by Wood et al. (2000).
13 20 13 13 150 Dry 80 60
Important details related to boundaries, dimensions, materials,
14 10 9 13 100 Dry 50 90
and loading conditions in the model vis-a-vis the actual prototype
were given due consideration as presented subsequently.
15 20 13 13 150 Dry 50 90
Similitude ratio refers to the ratio of any linear dimension of the
model to the corresponding dimension of the prototype. For fully
drained loading conditions, the longer the drainage path, the longer
the duration of the test. To reduce the total test duration, a minimum
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2011.137:1265-1274.
ratios result into the following three groupings (Table 1): nine-
column group (Ar ¼ 10%), 13-column group (Ar ¼ 20%), and
21-column group (Ar ¼ 30%), in which Ar ¼ πðr=sÞ2 with r and Model Test Results
s as the radius and spacing of columns. For 25 mm columns, both
Ar ¼ 20 and 30% result into the five-column group. Most of the To get a better qualitative representation and to overcome the scale
columns in each group was located within the footing area except effect to some extent, it was decided to normalize the results. In the
four corner columns that were located half inside the footing and literature, either undrained strength, cu , or initial effective geostatic
half outside it. This was done in accordance to the field practice stress, p0i , has been used for normalizing stress parameters (Wood
wherein some percentage (≅ 10–20%) of the total columns is al- et al. 2000; Shahu et al. 2000). In this study, p0i has been used for
ways cast outside the loading area to achieve a confining effect. normalization because the model test results have been compared
with finite-element analysis results, and the finite-element analysis
After marking column locations, the columns were installed by
uses p0i as a foundation parameter and not cu . The settlement was
manually pushing thin perspex casing pipes of 10 mm wall thick-
normalized by the length of the column following Shahu et al.
ness and 13 mm inner diameter into the soil up to required depth.
(2000) which presents a mechanistic model for settlement analysis
The soil from inside the casing pipes was then taken out with the
of the stone column foundation.
help of an auger of 10 mm diameter. The holes thus formed were
The major parameters influencing the response of the stone col-
filled up with made-up Badarpur sand at a relative density of 50 or
umn group foundation are given as follows:
80%. A 20 mm thick and 100 mm diameter granular mat was then
compacted at a relative density of 80% on the top of the stone
δ ¼ f ðσv ; s; l; d; p0i ; p0p ; λ; κ; M; E s ; NÞ ð1Þ
column group. A footing plate in the form of a 100 mm diameter
suitably-stiffened perspex plate, with a large number of small holes
dotted over the whole plate area for drainage of water, was placed in which δ = settlement of footing; σv = applied vertical stress on
over the mat. footing; s = spacing of columns; l = length of column; d = diameter
The footing load was applied in 10–14 equal loading increments of column; p0i = initial mean effective geostatic stress; p0p = mean
of 15 kPa each with the help of a lever-arm mechanism under dou- effective preconsolidation stress; λ = slope of virgin consolidation
ble drainage path until the failure occurred. Each load increment line; κ = slope of unloading-reloading line; M = critical state ratio;
was applied until the rate of the settlement became less than Es = secant modulus; and N = number of columns.
1 mm=day. It took nearly 20–25 days for completion of this stage In the present study, these parameters are nondimensionalized
of the test. After completion of the test, the failed column group following Buckingham’s theorem of dimensional analysis given
was cast by using plaster of Paris by exhumation technique (Wood as follows:
et al. 2000). However, the casting was successful only for a few
cases, such as one shown in the inset of Fig. 2; for most of the δ σ l Eλ
¼ f v0 ; Ar ; ; R; s0 ; M; N ð2Þ
cases, some columns in the group were broken and the attempt l pi d pi
was not successful.
As previously discussed, initial effective vertical stresses in which Ar = area ratio = ðπ=4Þðd=sÞ2 and R = overconsolidation
in the clay bed may be assumed as equal to overburden stresses. ratio = p0p =p0i . κ is generally assumed as one-fifth of λ. The reasons
Assuming total unit weight of mat ¼ 15 kN=m3 and saturated for choosing these ratios more than other forms of groupings are
unit weight of clayey soil ¼ 18 kN=m3 , effective vertical stress given at appropriate sections in which the influence of these ratios
at the center of the clay bed may be calculated as 1.5 kPa. Assum- are presented. Minor parameters having little influence over settle-
ing K 0 varying between 2 and 6 (Bowles 1997), initial effective ment of the footing are thickness of the mat and the dilation angle
geostatic stress, p0i [¼ ðσv þ σh1 þ σh2 Þ=3] at the center of the clay and the angle of shearing-resistance of sand.
Fig. 3. Comparison of finite-element and model test results for 13 mm Fig. 5. Comparison of finite-element and model test results for
diameter columns with different Ar (l=d ¼ 11:54) different l=d ratios (Ar ¼ 10%)
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The settlement of the footing increases nonlinearly with the in- increase in the normalized column length. Also, the failure stress
creasing vertical stress up to a certain critical stress level. After this increases with the increase in the normalized column length.
critical stress level, the settlement becomes excessive with further Fig. 8 shows the effect of sand physical state. The model tests
increase in the vertical stress, indicating the failure. A versatile ul- have been conducted by constructing stone columns both with
timate load criterion defines the ultimate load as the point in which dry and moist sand (Tests 9–11). The same trends as previously
the slope of the load-settlement curve first reaches zero or a steady,
minimum value (Vesic 1963). This failure criterion has been used to
determine normalized failure stress, (pmax =p0i ). The more the area
ratio, the more the strength of the foundation and hence, the more
the failure stress (Figs. 2 and 3). For a given normalized applied
vertical stress, the settlement decreases as the area ratio increases
(Figs. 2 and 3), owing to the corresponding increase in the stiffness
of the foundation. Thus, more area ratio is beneficial in reducing the
settlement and increasing the failure stress.
The model tests have been also conducted on two different
groups of 25 mm diameter columns (Tests 7–8). The area ratio
for these groups is 20 and 30%; the total number of columns in
each group is five; and the footing diameter is 100 mm in both
cases. It was not possible to accommodate more than five columns
even for the group with area ratio = 30%. The same trends as pre-
viously discussed for 13 mm diameter column groups (Figs. 2 and Fig. 6. Comparison of finite-element and model test results for
3) were also observed for 25 mm diameter column groups (Fig. 4). different l=d ratios (Ar ¼ 20%)
Fig. 4. Normalized vertical stress versus settlement relationship for Fig. 7. Comparison of finite-element and model test results for
25 mm diameter column groups (l=d ¼ 4) different l=d ratios (Ar ¼ 30%)
Fig. 8. Effect of sand moisture condition on stress-settlement Fig. 10. Settlement versus vertical stress relationship for different re-
relationship lative density of sand for Ar ¼ 10% and l ¼ 100 mm; and Ar ¼ 20%
and l ¼ 150 mm (d ¼ 13 mm, dry sand)
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mentioned for the dry sand (Fig. 2) were also noted for the moist
sand (Fig. 8). For a given normalized applied stress, the settlement
is higher for the case when the column is constructed with moist
sand than that for the case when the column is cast with dry sand. In
the case of moist sand, the clayey soil around the periphery of the
column would be softened owing to casting of the column, and the
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2011.137:1265-1274.
Finite-Element Analysis
and skewed elements, which many times result into a premature Table 3. Comparison of Model Tests and FEM inPmax and ρmax
termination of computer runs. Hence, a less fine clayey soil Pmax (kPa) ρmax (mm)
mesh [Fig. 12(d)], which gave consistent results for all cases, was
adopted. The maximum error in the ultimate vertical stress and the l Ar p0i Model % Model %
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2011.137:1265-1274.
Parametric Study
A sensitivity analysis of some important parameters is necessary to
evaluate the error that may be caused owing to uncertainties in the
evaluation of these parameters. Also, although the effect of certain
parameters, such as area ratio and length of columns, on group re-
sponse has been previously discussed, still several important var-
iables such as clayey soil parameters, E s , and R, are remaining
whose effect on the group response has not been evaluated. Hence,
No other uses without permission. Copyright (c) 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers. All rights reserved.
Fig. 14 depicts the effect of the overconsolidation ratio, R in less σv =p0i with decrease in R.
(¼ p0p =p0i ), on the normalized stress-settlement relationship. In this Several researchers have used the parameter E s =Ec (e.g.,
figure, R has been varied by keeping p0p constant but changing p0i . Bergado et al. 1996) for normalization of stone column responses,
First, at any given normalized applied vertical stress, the settlement in which Ec is the Young’s modulus of the clayey soil. Shahu et al.
decreases as R increases. The lateral confinement to the stone (2000) have used a nondimensional parameter Rs as
Cc Es
Rs ¼ 0:434 ð3Þ
ð1 þ e0 Þ p0i
Fig. 17. Comparison of present model test results with Wood et al. 3. The details of the finite-element analysis of the model founda-
(2000) data tion conducted in this study can be directly used in the analysis
of any particular case of a prototype floating stone column
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accommodated in a square grid pattern covering a 10 m diameter λ = slope of virgin consolidation line;
circular area is 7 × 7. Thus, the actual area covered by these col- μ = Poisson’s ratio;
umns is 10:71 × 10:71 m, which represents an area extending more ρmax = settlement corresponding to Pmax ;
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than 10% of the total tank area beyond the footprint of the tank. σh1 = horizontal stress in X-direction;
Thus, the number of columns = 49 may be adopted. σh2 = horizontal stress in Y-direction;
Step 5: The settlement of the stone column group foundation (δ) σv = applied vertical stress on footing; and
can be determined from Fig. 15. Thus, for R ¼ p0p =p0i ¼ ψ = dilatancy angle.
120=30 ¼ 4; Es λ=p0i ¼ 27:5; σv =p0i ¼ 5; and M ¼ 0:703, Fig. 15
gives δ=l ¼ 0:025. Next, Fig. 16 can be used to approximately ex-
tend the δ=l value obtained for M ¼ 0:703 to that for M ¼ 1:0 by References
extrapolation. Fig. 16 shows that for σv =p0i ¼ 5, the δ=l value for
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2011.137:1265-1274.
M ¼ 0:703 remains the same as that for M ¼ 1:0. Ambily, A. P., and Gandhi, S. R. (2007). “Behavior of stone columns based
on experimental and FEM analysis.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.,
Thus, for M ¼ 1, δ=l ¼ 0:025.
133(4), 405–415.
Therefore, δ ¼ 0:193 m. Bergado, D. T., Anderson, L. R., Miura, N., and Balasubramaniam, A. S.
In this example, nominal values of all design parameters were (1996). Soft ground improvement in lowland and other environments,
used to simplify the design. For other values of design parameters, American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.
an interpolation or extrapolation is suggested. Bowles, J. E. (1997). Foundation analysis and design, 5th Ed.,
McGraw-Hill, New York.
Hughes, J. M. O., and Withers, N. J. (1974). “Reinforcing of soft cohesive
soils with stone columns.” Ground Eng., 7(3), 42–49.
Lambe, T. W., and Whitman, R. V. (1979). Soil mechanics, SI version,
Notation Wiley, New York.
Lee, K. M., Manjunath, V. R., and Dewaikar, D. M. (1999). “Numerical and
model studies of strip footing supported by a reinforced granular fill-
The following symbols are used in this paper:
soft soil system.” Can. Geotech. J., 36(5), 793–807.
Ar = area replacement ratio; Rao, S. N., Reddy, K. M., and Kumar, P. H. (1997). “Studies on groups of
C c = compression index of clayey soil; stone columns in soft clays.” Geotech. Eng., 28(2), 165–182.
C s = swelling index of clayey soil; Reddy, Y. R. (2010). “Soft soil reinforced with granular pile-mat system:
cu = undrained shear strength of clayey soil; analysis and model tests.” Ph.D. thesis, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India.
D = particle size of sand; Roscoe, K. H., Schofield, A. N., and Wroth, C. P. (1958). “On the yielding
Dr = relative density; of soils.” Geotechnique, 8(1), 22–53.
d = diameter of stone column; Shahu, J. T., Madhav, M. R., and Hayashi, S. (2000). “Analysis of soft
E s = secant modulus of sand; ground-granular pile-granular mat system.” Comput. Geotech., 27(1),
E c = secant modulus of clayey soil; 45–62.
Vesic, A. S. (1963). Bearing capacity of deep foundations in sans, Vol. 39,
e0 = initial void ratio;
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Highway
K o = coefficient of earth pressure at rest; Research Record, Washington, DC, 112–153.
l = length of stone column; Wood, D. M. (1990). Soil behavior and critical state soil mechanics,
M = critical state ratio; Cambridge University, London.
N = number of columns; Wood, D. M., Hu, W., and Nash, D. F. T. (2000). “Group effects in stone
Pmax = failure stress; column foundations: Model tests.” Geotechnique, 50(6), 689–698.