Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42

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Engineering Geology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo

Piezometer measurements of prefabricated vertical drain improvement

of soft soils under land reclamation fill
A. Arulrajah a,⁎, M.W. Bo b, M. Leong c, M.M. Disfani a
a
Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
b
DST Consulting Engineers Inc., Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
c
Geofrontiers Group Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Piezometers are commonly used for monitoring the dissipation of pore water pressure and therefore the de-
Received 7 October 2012 termination of degree of consolidation of soft soils after ground improvement in land reclamation projects.
Received in revised form 4 April 2013 This paper compares the degree of consolidation obtained using pore pressure monitoring data from vibrat-
Accepted 11 May 2013
ing wire piezometers and pneumatic piezometers installed in a test site in the Changi East Reclamation pro-
Available online 23 May 2013
ject in Singapore. The test site consisted of a vertical drain sub-area at which prefabricated vertical drains
Keywords:
were installed at 2.0 m × 2.0 m square spacing as well as an adjacent control sub-area where no
Soft soil prefabricated vertical drains were installed. Pneumatic piezometers were installed at the same elevations
Field instrumentation as the vibrating-wire piezometers in both sub-areas for comparison purposes. During the surcharge period
Piezometer of 32 months, the piezometer monitoring data were analysed at various periods to determine the degree
Ground improvement of consolidation of the underlying soft marine clay. The degree of consolidation values interpreted from
Prefabricated vertical drains both types of piezometers were compared with predictions from neighbouring settlement plates to
evaluate their performance. The findings of the comparison between pneumatic and electric vibrating-wire
piezometers indicate that both types of piezometer are suitable for monitoring the consolidation behaviour
of soft soil under land reclamation fills.
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Land reclamation on soft soils deposits is becoming increasingly
common at the nearshore or offshore locations in many land scarce
countries in the world. These soft soil deposits often have to be im-
proved using a variety of ground improvement techniques. Ground im-
provement techniques that are commonly used in the treatment of soft
soils in land reclamation projects include Prefabricated Vertical Drains
(PVD) in combination with surcharging (Holtz, 1991; Bergado et al.,
1996; Indraratna and Bamunawita, 2002; Bo et al., 2007; Chu et al.,
2009a, 2009b), stone columns (Arulrajah et al., 2009a), deep soil mixing
(Tan et al., 2002; Lorenzo and Bergado, 2003; Larsson et al., 2005) or
other suitable techniques. Of these ground improvement techniques,
prefabricated vertical drains with surcharge is arguably the most widely
used and economical technique in land reclamation works on soft soil
deposits (Bo et al., 1999, 2003; Chu et al., 2009a).
Following the completion of appropriate ground improvement
works, the soft soil improvement has to be monitored by field instru-
mentation observational methods (Mesri and Choi, 1985; Arulrajah et
al., 2009b; Chu et al., 2009b) or in-situ testing methods (Arulrajah et
⁎ Corresponding author at: Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Engineering
(H38), PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia. Tel.: +61 392 145 741.
E-mail address: aarulrajah@swin.edu.au (A. Arulrajah).
al., 2005, 2006) to ascertain whether the required degree of improvement
of the soft soil has been achieved. Field instrumentation monitoring for
this purpose involves the usage of settlement gauges or piezometers.
Piezometers are increasingly used for monitoring the dissipation of
pore water pressure of soft soils after ground improvement in land recla-
mation projects (Arulrajah et al., 2004a). Through this evaluation, the de-
gree of consolidation of the improved soft soil can be determined.
Piezometers are utilized to measure the piezometric head in the soil
(Hanna, 1985). If regular monitoring is carried out to measure the piezo-
metric head together with the static water level, changes of excess pore
pressure due to additional load as well as dissipation of pore pressure
with time during the process of consolidation can be ascertained. The de-
gree of consolidation of the improved soft soil can thus be computed.
Piezometer types commonly used in land reclamation projects include
pneumatic, vibrating-wire and open-type piezometers (Bo et al., 2003;
Arulrajah et al., 2004a; Chu et al., 2009a).
A test site was carried out in the Changi East Reclamation Project
in the Republic of Singapore consisting of a prefabricated vertical
drain sub-area at which prefabricated vertical drains were installed
at 2.0 m × 2.0 m square spacing as well as an adjacent control
sub-area where no prefabricated vertical drains were installed. The
geological and geotechnical characteristics of the soft Singapore ma-
rine clay found in the project site have been described by Arulrajah
et al. (2008). Ground improvement works in the project comprises

0013-7952/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.05.005
34 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42

of the installation of prefabricated vertical drains and the subsequent
placement of surcharge to accelerate the consolidation of the under-
lying soft marine clay (Bo et al., 2012). Prior to the installation of
prefabricated vertical drains at an elevation of + 4 m CD (Admiralty
Chart Datum, where mean sea level is + 1.6 m CD), instruments
comprising settlement plates, deep settlement gauges, pneumatic pi-
ezometers, vibrating-wire piezometers and water stand-pipes were
installed in both sub-areas of the test site. The deep settlement
gauges and piezometers were installed at various elevations in the
underlying marine clay. The pneumatic piezometers were installed
at close to the same elevations as the electric vibrating-wire piezom-
eters, each in separate boreholes in both sub-areas so that a compar-
ison could be made between the pore-water pressure measurements.
The piezometer data was compared for the A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m)
and A2S-74 (No Drain) sub-areas where the two types of piezometers
were both installed at almost similar elevations in the marine clay for
comparison purposes. A distance of 30 m was considered between the
two sub-areas to negate the influence of fill on the adjacent sub-area.
The sub-areas were subsequently surcharged to the surcharge elevation
of +7 mCD. The piezometer monitoring data in this paper were
analysed at various surcharging periods of 12, 24 and 32 months to de-
termine the degree of consolidation of the underlying soft marine clay.
The results of both types of piezometers were compared to study their
performance in marine clay treated with and without prefabricated ver-
tical drains.
2. Types of piezometers
the piezometer in a guard shell to overcome gripping and pinching of
the cable due to lateral stress and settlement. Fig. 1 shows a schematic
of the pneumatic piezometer in a protective casing.
2.2. Vibrating-wire piezometer
Electric vibrating-wire piezometers were installed in the on-land
field instrumentation clusters as well as the long-term field instru-
mentation clusters. The vibrating-wire piezometer consists of a trans-
ducer which converts water pressure to tensional load on a steel strip
that is fixed at both ends. When excited by a magnetic coil, the steel
strip vibrates at its natural frequency, generating voltage pulses that
are transmitted to the readout device. The readout device counts a
set number of pulses and computes a natural period, the inverse of
the natural frequency. The square of the natural frequency is propor-
tional to the tension in the steel strip and hence, the pressure exerting
the load on the strip (Bo et al., 2003). Fig. 2 shows a schematic of a
vibrating-wire piezometer.
2.3. Open-type piezometers
Open type piezometers are installed in the more permeable for-
mation where drainage condition required to be checked. Open type
piezometers are installed in the same method as pneumatic piezom-
eters. Instead of pneumatic cable and water pressure cable, it has ex-
truding open pipe for water to be floated in the pipe. Water depths
are measured with the help of the water level indicator. Sometimes

Various types of piezometers were installed in the test site including

vibrating-wire piezometers, pneumatic piezometers and open type pie-
zometers. Water stand-pipes are often installed in piezometer clusters
so as to measure the hydrostatic water level.
Each piezometer is installed in an individual borehole at a
predetermined elevation. Pneumatic and vibrating-wire piezometers
were calibrated for the local environment prior to installation in a
large diameter tube well and pressure measured against the actual
water column pressure on the piezometer. Piezometers are packed in
a sand bag and saturated in water for 24 h prior to installation. Follow-
ing installation of the piezometer in the borehole, a sand filter layer of
0.5 to 1 m is placed followed by placement of a bentonite seal, suitable
for marine conditions. The borehole is then backfilled with sand on top
of the bentonite plug to the original level. The installed piezometers are
then measured at regular intervals to determine pressure or water head
above the measured level as well as to monitor the dissipation of excess
pore pressure. These measured values are translated into piezometric
head or excess pore pressures (Bo and Chao, 2004). A brief description
of each of these piezometers is provided in this section.

2.1. Pneumatic piezometer

The pneumatic piezometer consists of a pneumatic transducer

which has been permanently installed in a borehole (Bo et al., 2003).
Tubing runs from the transducer to a terminal on the surface. Readings
for pneumatic piezometers are obtained with a pneumatic indicator. To
obtain a pressure reading, the operator connects the transducer tubing
to the indicator and directs a flow of compressed nitrogen gas to the
transducer. When the transducer tubing brings a flow of gas back to
the surface, the operator knows the transducer has been activated and
shuts off the flow of gas. Gas pressure inside the transducer now bal-
ances water pressure outside and the reading is recorded (Bo et al.,
2003).
In the initial stages, the pneumatic piezometers in the project site
were subject to a high damage rate resulted by pinching of the tubing
caused by large strain settlements which led to the loss of valuable
data until they were replaced. This was however corrected by installing Fig. 1. Typical installation schematic of a pneumatic piezometer with protective casing
a protective casing throughout the length of the cables and by housing (Bo et al., 2003).
 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42 35

Fig. 3. Typical installation schematic of an open-type piezometer (Bo et al., 2003).

degree of consolidation for a soil element, Uu, can be defined as shown

in Eq. 1. It is to be noted that Eq. 1 defines the degree of consolidation
Fig. 2. Typical installation schematic of a vibrating wire piezometer (Bo et al., 2003).
for a soil element only,
 . 
Uu 0
¼ 1−ðU t =U i Þ 1
water could overflow through the pipe due to extremely high artesian 0

pressure at aquifer below the compressible layer. As such, pressure

gauges should be installed to measure the water head (Bo et al., where Ut = the excess pore pressure at time t; and Ui = initial excess
2003). Fig. 3 shows a schematic of an open-type piezometer. pore pressure which is equal to the placed surcharge.

2.4. Water stand-pipe

Water stand-pipes were installed at the sand formation within

piezometer clusters so as to measure the hydrostatic water level at
these locations. This enabled the evaluation of the excess pore water
pressures for the piezometers by determining the piezometric elevation
and subsequently the excess pore water pressures. The water stand-
pipe consists of water intake opening slots that are small enough to pre-
vent the ingress of the surrounding soil into the stand-pipe. A geofabric
is often wrapped around the slotted portion of the water stand-pipe. A
water-level indicator which emits a buzzing sound on contact with
water is used to determine the water level (Bo et al., 2003). Fig. 4
shows a schematic of a water stand-pipe.

3. Determination of degree of consolidation from piezometers

Piezometers generally measure water pressure or water head above

the measured level. The measured values are generally translated into
piezometric head or excess pore pressure. Data are usually presented
together with construction stages and activities. However care should
be taken in analysing piezometer results as piezometer readings should
be corrected to take piezometer tip settlement into account (Arulrajah
et al., 2004b). Uncorrected piezometer monitoring data would lead to
underestimation of degree of consolidation.
Average residual excess pore pressure is defined as the ratio of excess
pore pressure at time “t” upon initial excess pore pressure. Therefore Fig. 4. Typical installation schematic of a water stand-pipe (Bo et al. 2003).
36 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42
4. Factors affecting prediction assessment using piezometers data
Based on the ratio of the excess pore water pressure reading of the
piezometer and the initial excess pore water pressure, the degree of
consolidation of the piezometer can be established. Factors that affect
piezometer analyses include period of assessment after surcharge
placement, hydrogeologic boundary phenomenon, correction for set-
tlement of the piezometer tip and reduction of initial imposed load
due to submergence effect (Bo et al., 2003; Arulrajah et al., 2004b).
4.1. Period of assessment after surcharge placement
Pore water pressure dissipates with increasing periods of assessment
and as such there is a lower residual excess pore water pressure with
increasing periods of assessment due to change of additional loads due
to submergence effects. Correspondingly, the degree of consolidation
will increase with increasing period of assessment. The isochrones of
the excess pore water pressures is interpreted to obtain the average de-
gree of consolidation of the various sub-areas (Bo et al., 2003; Arulrajah
et al., 2004a). In this paper, the period of assessment for the test site is
analysed at surcharging periods of 12, 24 and 32 months.
4.2. Hydrogeologic boundary phenomenon
If the piezometer is installed in offshore condition prior to recla-
mation, the initial excess pore water pressure can be obtained during
the monitoring as the initial static pore pressure is known. Otherwise,
the initial excess pore pressure has to be calculated from the assumed
bulk density of the fill material (Bo et al., 2003). For the case of land
reclamation projects, it is common to assume a bulk density of 17 to
19 kN/m3 for the sand fill material. Bo et al. (2003) has measured
the density of sand in this land reclamation project and found it to
vary from 15 kN/m3 to 19 kN/m3. As such, the calculated excess
pore pressure based on assumed bulk density of the fill material
could lead to an over-estimation of excess pore pressure for land fill
cases and an underestimation for hydraulic filling.
Initial excess pore pressure is usually assumed to be equal to the ap-
plied additional load. However, initial pore pressure after loading could
be different in circumstances where the clay layer is underlain by the
hydrogeologic boundary. This phenomenon has been explained by
Schiffman et al. (1994). In these circumstances, the profile of pore
pressure after additional load could be lower than that calculated.
Overestimation of degree of consolidation would occur if the initial
lower pore pressure is not taken into consideration. Situations like
this will arise when the clay layer is underlain by a water aquifer
which is being extracted for water supply. However, study of aquifer
location and water tables suggest that the hydrogeologic boundary phe-
nomenon does not arise in this test site.
4.3. Correction for settlement of piezometer tip
Due to the large strain settlements at site, all piezometer raw
readings taken have to be corrected to account for the new elevation
of the piezometer due to the settlement of the piezometer tip. With-
out correction, the calculated piezometric elevation would be higher
than the actual elevation leading to the underestimation of the degree
of consolidation. Correction is essential and if not made will lead to an
underestimation of the degree of dissipation of the excess pore water
pressure (Bo et al., 2003; Arulrajah et al., 2004b).
4.4. Reduction of initial imposed load
For marine clay when land reclamation fill is placed, the soft soil
rarely gains the effective stress equivalent to the initial applied load
due to reduction of load caused by sinking of fill below groundwater
level and rise in groundwater level resulted by seasonal recharge. This
behaviour has been reported by Mesri and Choi (1985). As such, the
degree of consolidation based on the initial applied load is likely to
be underestimated since the available effective additional load at
assessed time is smaller than the initial load (Bo et al., 2003).
5. Installation of piezometers at the test site
In this project, piezometers were installed in off-shore protection
platforms prior to reclamation as well as in the on-land field instrumen-
tation clusters. Pneumatic and vibrating-wire piezometers were
installed in the test site to monitor the dissipation of excess pore
pressures of the marine clay under the reclaimed fill load. Water
stand-pipes were installed at the sand formation within piezometer
clusters in order to measure the hydrostatic water level at these loca-
tions. Each piezometer was installed in individual boreholes at various
predetermined elevations in the marine clay. The piezometers were
installed in the same instrument clusters as the water stand-pipes and
settlement gauges. Piezometers were installed close to the same eleva-
tions as the deep settlement gauges to provide the ability for the correc-
tion of the piezometer tip elevation caused by the large strain
settlements of the marine clay under the reclaimed fill.
Prior to the piezometer installation, site calibration was conducted
in a large diameter water well to check on the manufacturer's calibra-
tion. As such, a site calibration chart is produced for each piezometer
prior to their installation plotting measured pressure against pressure
of water on the piezometer. Piezometers are packed in a sand bag and
saturated in the water at least 24 h before installation. After installation
in a borehole, sand should be placed again to the certain limit and ben-
tonite seal should be placed on top of the sand column. The bentonite
should be suitable for marine conditions and upon reaction with seawa-
ter sufficient swelling and reduction of permeability must be achieved.
On top of the bentonite plug, the borehole should be backfilled up to the
original seabed preferably with original soil. If not it should be backfilled
with a good mixture of bentonite cement with a permeability value
equivalent to or lower than natural soil. This is because backfilling
with sand will lead to a lower measurement of the excess pore pressure
at the location due to the rapid dissipation of pore pressure along the
sand fill column above the piezometer (Bo et al., 2003).
The pneumatic and vibrating-wire piezometers were installed in
the same clusters as the settlement gauges; close to the same eleva-
tion as the settlement gauges to enable for correction of the piezom-
eter tip caused by large strain settlement. Water stand-pipes were
installed in the clusters in order to measure the static water level at
these locations and to ascertain the excess pore water pressures of
the piezometers. The excess pore water pressure is computed from
the difference between the total pore water pressure and the hydro-
static pore water pressure.
6. Results and discussion
Piezometers were installed at different elevations and as such, the
average degree of consolidation for the entire compressible unit as
well as the degree of consolidation of the sub-layers was determined.
Fig. 5 presents the cross-sectional profile showing piezometer locations
at the A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m) and A2S-74 (no drain) sub-areas. In
Fig. 5, the vibrating-wire piezometers are denoted as PZ while the
pneumatic piezometers are denoted as PP.
The results obtained from the two types of piezometers were com-
pared to ascertain the performance of the piezometers installed in the
marine clay subject to the reclaimed fill load and surcharge load. The pi-
ezometer data were compared for the A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m) and
A2S-74 (no drain) sub-areas where the two types of piezometers
were both installed at close to the same elevations in the marine clay
for comparison purposes.
The excess pore water pressures for the A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m)
sub-area is shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 for the pneumatic and
 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42 37

SP: Settlement Plate DS: Deep Settlement Gaugge PP: Pnneumatic Piezometer
PZ: Vibrating-Wire Piezommeter WS: Water Stand-pipe Shear Strength: Field Vane Test

Fig. 5. Cross-sectional profile showing piezometer locations at the A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0) and A2S-74 (no drain) sub-areas (Bo and Chao, 2004).

vibrating-wire piezometer respectively. The excess pore water pres-
sures for the A2S-74 (no drain) sub-area is shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9
for the pneumatic and vibrating-wire piezometer respectively. The pie-
zometers in A2S71 indicate a marked increase in excess pore water
pressures during the surcharge placement which reaches a peak at
180 to 270 days' time period. This is followed by a gradual dissipation
of the excess pore water pressures during the surcharge period in the
sub-areas with prefabricated vertical drains which indicates gaining
degree of consolidation of the marine clay over time. The observation
of piezometers for A2S-74 (no-drain) sub-area indicates that there is
an increase in the excess pore pressure during surcharge placement,
which peaks at 270 days, followed by a much slower rate of dissipation
of excess pore water pressures.
After approximately 1170 days' time period some piezometers picked
up a slight rise in piezometric elevation and excess pore water pressures
which can be attributed to the surcharge placement at areas adjacent and

120
PP-245 (-8 mCD) PP-246 (-10 mCD) PP-247 (-12 mCD)

PP-248 (-20 mCD) PP-249 (-27 mCD) PP-369 (-33 mCD)

100
Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

80

60

PP-248

40 PP-247
PP-246

PP-249
20
PP-245

PP-369

0
0 90 180 270 360 450 540 630 720 810 900 990 1080 1170 1260 1350
Time (days)

Fig. 6. Excess pore water pressures at A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m) for pneumatic piezometers.
38 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42

120
PZ-35 (-8 mCD) PZ-36 (-12 mCD) PZ-37 (-16 mCD)

PZ-38 (-20 mCD) PZ-39 (-27 mCD) PZ-40 (-33 mCD)

100

Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

80

60

PZ-38

40
PZ-36
PZ-37

20
PZ-40

PZ-35
PZ-39
0
0 90 180 270 360 450 540 630 720 810 900 990 1080 1170 1260 1350
Time (days)

Fig. 7. Excess pore water pressures at A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m) for vibrating wire piezometers.

close to these sub-areas. As such the piezometers are noted to be sensitive
to the surcharge placement operations and the loading pressure bulbs of
these adjacent areas. Damage to piezometers is indicated by the extreme
sudden increase in the piezometric elevation and excess pore water pres-
sure readings such as damage to PP-438 in A2S-74 (no drain) during the
surcharge placement operation at approximately the 1170 day period.
Damage can also be indicated by a sudden loss of signal which could be
attributed to the damage caused by moving machinery.
Figs. 10, 11 and 12 indicate the comparison of the excess pore
pressure isochrones from vibrating-wire and pneumatic piezometers
monitoring data among the sub-areas at 12, 24 and 32 months' time
intervals after surcharge. In Fig. 10, after 12 months of surcharge, it
is evident that there some difference between the vibrating-wire
and pneumatic piezometer readings for A2S71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m) at
elevations of −10 to −15 mCD with the pneumatic piezometer giving
higher readings. The opposite trend is noted for A2S-74 (no drain) with
the vibrating-wire piezometer giving higher readings at most eleva-
tions. Similar differences in excess pore water pressure are noted in
Fig. 11 (24 months after surcharge) and Fig. 12 (32 months after
surcharge) with variations in the excess pore water pressures noted be-
tween the two types of piezometer with inconclusive trends. These dif-
ferences can be attributed to effects such as slight variations in marine
clay profile between piezometer installation locations, disturbance ef-
fects during the piezometer installation, presence of sand seams in the

240
PP-349 (-8.5 mCD) PP-350 (-12 mCD) PP-435 (-15 mCD)
220 PP-436 (-17.5 mCD) PP-437 (-21.5 mCD) PP-438 (-24 mCD)
PP-439 (-27 mCD) PP-440 (-30 mCD) PP-441 (-38.5 mCD)
200

180
Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

PP-437 PP-349 PP-438

160

140

120 PP-436

PP-435
100

80 PP-440

60

40
PP-439

20
PP-441
0
0 90 180 270 360 450 540 630 720 810 900 990 1080 1170 1260 1350

Time (days)

Fig. 8. Excess pore water pressures at A2S-74 (no drain) for pneumatic piezometers.
 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42 39

180
PZ-41 (-12 mCD) PZ-42 (-15 mCD) PZ-43 (-17.5 mCD)

160 PZ-44 (-24 mCD) PZ-45 (-27 mCD) PZ-46 (-38.5 mCD)

140

Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

PZ-42

120
PZ-43
PZ-41
PZ-44
100
PZ-45

80

60

40
PZ-46

20

0
270 360 450 540 630 720 810 900 990 1080 1170 1260 1350
Time (days)

Fig. 9. Excess pore water pressures at A2S-74 (no drain) for vibrating wire piezometers.

marine clay as well as pinching of the pneumatic piezometer cables
during the settlement process. It is noted that the excess pore water
pressures are recorded to be significantly lower at the location of the
relatively higher permeability intermediate stiff clay layer for both
types of piezometers and this is particularly significant for the pneu-
matic piezometers at A2S-74 (no drain). For A2S-74 (no drain), the
vibrating-wire piezometers were only installed after 270 days and the
loss of earlier information on pore pressure dissipation prior to their
installation could also have affected the comparisons.
Fig. 13 indicates the comparison of degree of consolidation between
pneumatic and vibrating-wire piezometers for the various piezometer
elevations 32 months after surcharge. The comparison of the excess
pore pressure isochrones indicates that in the vertical drain treated
sub-area A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m), vibrating-wire piezometers consis-
tently provide a lower excess pore pressure than the pneumatic
piezometers installed at close to the same elevations. The shape of the
excess pore pressure isochrones of the two types of piezometers is of
the same trend in the various sub-layers thus indicating that the mea-
surement of the excess pore pressures by the piezometers is consistent
for both types of piezometers at the same corresponding elevation.
Table 1 summarises the degree of consolidation of the sub-areas
based on the isochrones of the piezometers at A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m)
at various periods after surcharge placement. The results from the pie-
zometers were also compared to those obtained from settlement plates

0
A2S-71 PZ (Vibrating-Wire Piezometer): 12 months after surcharge

A2S-71 PP (Pneumatic Piezometer): 12 months after surcharge

-5
A2S-74 PZ (Vibrating-Wire Piezometer): 12 months after surcharge

A2S-74 PP (Pneumatic Piezometer): 12 months after surcharge

-10
Elevation (mCD)

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35
Note:
A2S-71: 2.0 m x 2.0 m drain spacing
A2S-74: No drain
-40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

Fig. 10. Comparison between vibrating-wire and pneumatic piezometer excess pore pressure isochrones at 12 months after surcharge.
40 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42

0
A2S-71 PZ (Vibrating-Wire Piezometer): 24 months after surcharge

A2S-71 PP (Pneumatic Piezometer): 24 months after surcharge

-5
A2S-74 PZ (Vibrating-Wire Piezometer): 24 months after surcharge

A2S-74 PP (Pneumatic Piezometer): 24 months after surcharge

-10
Elevation (mCD)

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35
Note:
A2S-71: 2.0 m x 2.0 m drain spacing
A2S-74: No drain
-40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

Fig. 11. Comparison between vibrating-wire and pneumatic piezometer excess pore pressure isochrones at 24 months after surcharge.

by means of assessing the degree of consolidation by the Asaoka (1978)
and hyperbolic (Sridharan and Sreepada, 1981; Sridharan et al., 1991;
Tan, 1995) methods. At the end of the surcharge period of 32 months,
the sub-area with the prefabricated vertical drains (A2S-71:
2.0 m × 2.0 m) has achieved 86.2% degree of consolidation according
to the vibrating-wire piezometers and 79.6% according to the pneumatic
piezometers. The piezometer results in the sub-area with the
prefabricated vertical drains (A2S-71: 2.0 m × 2.0 m) were found to be
lower when compared to the settlement assessment at the end of the
surcharging period of 32 months though they were higher than the set-
tlement assessment at the earlier periods of assessment of 12 months.
This is consistent with the findings reported by Arulrajah et al. (2004a)
where it was reported that assessment by piezometer results was less
than that of the settlement gauges as the period of assessment increases.
Table 2 summarises the degree of consolidation of the sub-areas
based on the isochrones of the piezometers at A2S-74 (no drain) at
various periods after surcharge placement. At the end of the
surcharging period of 32 months, the control area without
prefabricated vertical drains (A2S-74: no drains) has achieved a 37%
degree of consolidation according to the vibrating-wire piezometers
and 49.9% according to the pneumatic piezometers. The results of
the piezometers could not be compared to the settlement assessment

0
A2S-71 PZ (Vibrating-Wire Piezometer): 32 months after surcharge

A2S-71 PP (Pneumatic Piezometer): 32 months after surcharge

-5
A2S-74 PZ (Vibrating-Wire Piezometer): 32 months after surcharge

A2S-74 PP (Pneumatic Piezometer): 32 months after surcharge

-10

-15
Elevation (mCD)

-20

-25

-30

-35
Note:
A2S-71: 2.0 m x 2.0 m drain spacing
A2S-74: No drain
-40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

Excess Pore Pressure (kPa)

Fig. 12. Comparison between vibrating-wire and pneumatic piezometer excess pore pressure isochrones at 32 months after surcharge.
 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42 41

0
A2S-71 PZ (Vibrating-wire Piezometers): 32 months after surcharge

A2S-71 PP (Pneumatic Piezometers): 32 months after surcharge

-5
A2S-74 PZ (Vibrating-wire Piezometers): 32 months after surcharge

A2S-74 PP (Pneumatic Piezometers): 32 months after surcharge

-10
Elevation (mCD)
-15

-20

-25

-30

-35 Note:
A2S-71: 2.0 m x 2.0 m drain spacing
A2S-74: No drain
-40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Degree of Consolidation (%)

Fig. 13. Comparison of degree of consolidation between vibrating-wire and pneumatic piezometer 32 months after surcharge (A2S-71 and A2S-74).

results as a minimum degree of consolidation of 60% is required to
assess the degree of consolidation of settlement plates by the Asaoka
(Asaoka, 1978) and hyperbolic methods (Tan, 1995).
The comparisons of the degree of consolidation indicate that in the
vertical drain treated sub-area A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m), vibrating-wire
piezometers consistently provide a slightly higher degree of consolida-
tion than the pneumatic piezometers installed at almost the same eleva-
tions. The shape of the degree of consolidation isochrones of the two
types of piezometers is of the same geometry of the isochrones in the
various sub-layers, thus indicating that the measurement of the degree
of consolidation is consistent for both types of piezometers at the same
corresponding elevation.
In the untreated sub-area A2S-74 (no drain), the opposite trend is
found with the pneumatic piezometers registering higher degree of con-
solidation than the vibrating-wire piezometers installed at close to the
same corresponding elevation. It is noted that two of the pneumatic pie-
zometers in the untreated sub-area A2S-74 (no drain) (PP439: installa-
tion elevation −27 mCD and PP438: installation elevation −24 mCD)
have evidently been installed in a sand seam or a high permeability inter-
mediate layer which contributes to the very low excess pore water pres-
sure and subsequently high degree of consolidation at this elevation.
The shape of the degree of consolidation isochrones of the two types
of piezometers is generally of the same trend in the various sub-layers in-
dicating that the measurement of the degree of consolidation is consis-
tent for both types of piezometers at the same corresponding elevation.
Dissipation of excess pore water pressure readings as expected is
faster in the A2S-71 vertical drain treated sub-area when compared
Table 1
Comparison of average degree of consolidation at A2S-71 (2.0 m × 2.0 m) at various
periods after surcharge placement.
Instrument Degree of Consolidation, U (%)
12 mths. 24 mths.
Vibrating-wire piezometer (PZ) 79.7 83.0
Pneumatic piezometer (PP) 75.1 82.8
Settlement plate (SP) — hyberbolic method 76.3 89.7
Settlement plate (SP) — Asaoka method 71.3 85.3
to the untreated A2S-74 control area. This indicates that the
prefabricated vertical drains installed in the project are performing
to improve the soil drainage system.
7. Conclusions
Comparing results obtained from pneumatic piezometers with those
of vibrating-wire piezometers indicates that there is little conclusive
difference in reading between the two types of piezometers. As such,
either type of piezometer can be used for the monitoring of marine clay
behaviour under reclaimed fills. The slight variations observed in this
study could be due to differences in the soil stratification or the sensitivity
of the piezometers. Reasonably consistent readings were obtained from
both the pneumatic and vibrating-wire piezometers and as such either
type of piezometer can be used for the monitoring of the marine clay be-
haviour under reclaimed fill. Dissipation of excess pore water pressure
readings is evidently faster in the prefabricated vertical drain treated
sub-area. This indicates that the prefabricated vertical drains installed in
the project are performing to improve the soil drainage system.
At the end of the surcharging period of 32 months, the sub-area with
the prefabricated vertical drains (A2S-71: 2.0 m × 2.0 m) has achieved
an 86.2% degree of consolidation according to the vibrating-wire pie-
zometers and 79.6% according to the pneumatic piezometers. At the
end of the surcharging period of 32 months, the control area without
prefabricated vertical drains (A2S-74: no drains) has achieved a 37.0%
degree of consolidation according to the vibrating-wire piezometers
and 49.9% according to the pneumatic piezometers.
It is noted that two of the pneumatic piezometers in the untreated
sub-area A2S-74 (no drain) (PP439: installation elevation − 27 mCD
Table 2
Comparison of average degree of consolidation at A2S-74 (no drain) at various periods
after surcharge placement.
32 mths.
Instrument Degree of consolidation, U (%)
86.2
12 mths. 24 mths. 32 mths.
79.6
93.7 Vibrating-wire piezometer (PZ) 35.3 35.5 37.0
91.8 Pneumatic piezometer (PP) 49.3 44.3 49.9
42 A. Arulrajah et al. / Engineering Geology 162 (2013) 33–42
and PP438: installation elevation −24 mCD) have evidently been
installed in a sand seam or a high permeability intermediate layer
which contributes to an inconsistent reading of very low excess
pore water pressure and subsequently high degree of consolidation
at this elevation.
Dissipation of excess pore water pressure readings as expected is
faster in the A2S-71 vertical drain treated sub-area compared to the
untreated A2S-74 control area. This indicates that the prefabricated
vertical drains installed in the project are performing to improve the
soil drainage system.
The findings of the comparison between pneumatic and vibrating-
wire piezometers indicate that both types of piezometer are suitable
for monitoring the consolidation behaviour of soft soil under land recla-
mation fills.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported under Australian Research Council's
Linkage Projects funding scheme (project number LP0989164).
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