Comparative analysis on performance of vertical drain improved clay deposit under vacuum or surcharge loading

This paper presents two well-instrumented large-scale field tests of PVD-improved soft soil with vacuum and surcharge preloading, respectively. The two large-scale field tests were conducted adjacent to each other with the same preload. A comparative analysis was performed to investigate the performance of subsoil (i.e., the ground settlement, the layered settlement, the lateral displacement of subsoil and pore water pressure) under vacuum preloading and equivalent surcharge preloading. Some design methods were verified based on the field data. Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) and Vane Shear Tests (VST) were conducted to assess the improvement effects on subsoil after preloading. The results showed that as compared with surcharge preloading, vacuum preloading mitigated the differential settlement of the ground. The vacuum pressure transmitted into the soil with a minor loss through the PVD length. From a practical point of view, the improvement effects by vacuum preloading and surcharge preloading were similar in terms of influence depth and soil strength based on the in-situ tests.     

Performance of marine clay stabilised with vacuum pressure: Based on Queensland experience

Stabilising soft marine clay and estuarine soils via vacuum preloading has become very popular in Australasia over the past decades because it is a cost-effective and time-efficient approach. In recent times, new land on areas outside but adjacent to existing port amenities, the Fisherman Islands at the Port of Brisbane(POB), was reclaimed to cater for an increase in trade activities. A vacuum preloading method combined with surcharge to stabilise the deep layers of soil was used to enhance the application of prefabricated vertical drains(PVDs). This paper describes the performance of this combined surcharge fill and vacuum system under the embankment and also compares it with a surcharge loading system to demonstrate the benefits of vacuum pressure over conventional fill. The performance of this embankment is also presented in terms of field monitoring data, and the relative performance of the vacuum together with non-vacuum systems is evaluated. An analytical solution to radial consolidation with time-dependent surcharge loading and vacuum pressure is also presented in order to predict the settlement and associated excess pore water pressure(EPWP) of deposits of thick soft clay.     

A simple solution for prefabricated vertical drain with surcharge preloading combined with vacuum consolidation

Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) with the surcharge preloading and vacuum consolidation has become considerably popular for ground improvement projects. A simple solution that incorporates the fundamental embankment features, such as the average degree of consolidation and excess pore pressure, are essential for the design of soft ground improvements by PVDs with vacuum preloading. However, most of the solutions for vertical drains with vacuum consolidation require numerical simulations, whose implementation tends to be laborious. In contrast, a simple solution for vacuum consolidation under time-dependent loading has not yet been proposed. In this study, a simple solution that can be easily incorporated into a conventional spreadsheet is derived for PVDs with vacuum preloading by applying the Laplace transform technique. The proposed solution accounts for several actual construction conditions, such as initial surcharge load, vacuum pump trial period, variations of radial permeability, and time-dependent loading. The results obtained from this proposed approach were validated with those from the finite element method and field data from the case study of the Cai Mep International Terminal project in southern Vietnam. The derived solutions, including the excess pore pressures and average degrees of consolidation, were in good agreement with the predicted and observed data.     

预压作用下软土固结蠕变及微观结构试验研究

为了揭示预压荷载作用下软土路基工后沉降的机理,开展了室内模拟真空、堆载以及真空—堆载联合预压加固软土的固结蠕变三轴试验及微观结构试验。分析了在三种不同的预压作用下土体固结蠕变性状的不同和微观结构的变化机理。结果表明:在三种不同的预压荷载作用下,固结过程中,是真空—堆载联合预压条件下土体的沉降量最大,其次是堆载预压,最小的是真空预压。蠕变过程的沉降量是堆载预压的最大,其次是联合预压,最小的是真空预压。预压荷载作用下土体的固结和蠕变具有耦合效应;微观结构参数的变化受预压加载方式的影响。微观结构参数的变化率与宏观物性参数的变化率有相似的性质。     

真空预压地基卸荷变形特性试验研究

为认识真空预压地基在真空压力卸载中的变形特性,对原状软黏土土样进行了常规三轴仪等向压缩与膨胀试验以及CKC三轴仪压缩膨胀试验,以模拟真空预压地基中各种应力状态下的土体单元在卸除真空压力这种球形压力后的变形特征。研究结果表明,真空压力卸载过程中地基土体既产生弹性的体积膨胀,因偏应力的存在,土体还产生剪切变形,在真空联合堆载预压中,堆载产生的较大偏应力将导致真空压力卸载时地基回弹很小,甚至地基继续沉降。真空压力卸载时,地基的沉降效果是土体膨胀变形和土体的剪切变形的叠加。     

真空预压与堆载预压加固软基的微观效果评价

本文以某高速公路路基软土为研究对象,在地质条件相近的、不同试验路段的软基加固方法（堆载预压、真空预压、真空．堆载联合预压）前后（加固时间达到3个月）,工程单位分别进行了原位试验并采取软土样,开展了室内物理力学试验。结合工程单位所取的软土样进行了软土的微观结构试验,在试验的基础上,获得了软土在天然状态以及3种不同工况下的微结构图像,通过对图像处理得到加固前后的微结构特征参数。研究得出：在工程地质条件相近以及加固时间相同的情况下,无论是从宏观、微观结构,还是从固结过程和强度的增长上来看,3种工况的加固效果依次为：堆载预压→真空预压→真空．堆载联合预压。     

公路软基超载预压机理研究

通过不同超载比、不同作用时间的一维固结试验,研究软土在超载作用过程的变形机理。研究表明,超载作用时间过长会使地基的总变形量增加,相对于等载预压过程,超载的作用时间越长、超载比越大,超载卸除后的次压缩变形越小。以提早完成基准期次压缩变形量为目标,过大的超载比是没必要的。工程算例表明,在较长的超载时间情况下,较小的超载比也可以满足工程需要。     

关于砂井地基超载预压的若干问题

本文结合宁波机场、温州机场砂井超载预压等工程,论述了预压荷载下砂井地基固结有限元分析方法,通过室内外试验探讨了正常固结土的次固结变形特性,说明超载预压对减小土的次固结变形和推迟次固结变形的发生有肯定的效果。本文还提出了一种分析超载卸除后地基残余变形的方法,并建议用有效应力面积比来进行超载设计和卸载控制。     

A pilot test on a membraneless vacuum preloading method

A membraneless vacuum preloading method is proposed in this paper for soft soil improvement. The method offers several advantages over the conventional vacuum preloading in which membrane is used to create the airtight condition and sand blanket layer to distribute vacuum. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed method, a pilot test was conducted at a land reclamation site in Tianjin, China. The ground settlement and the pore water pressure (PWP) at different elevations in soil were measured. After vacuum preloading, the average water content of the soft soils reduced by approximately 12% and the undrained shear strength increased twofold. The average degree of consolidation at the end of the vacuum preloading achieved 85.1% based on the settlement data and 84.5% based on the PWP data. The pilot test data have shown that the proposed method exhibits similar efficiencies to the conventional vacuum preloading method.     

真空联合堆载预压固结沉降计算方法的探讨

介绍了真空联合堆载预压路基沉降的方法,主要是分析在已有吹填土的深厚淤泥地段主固结沉降的计算方法,并结合工程实例,通过分析对比研究,得出了一些有益的结论。     

堆载预压和真空堆载联合预压的比较

堆载预压和真空联合堆载预压都是工程中处理软土地基的常用方法。通过舟山富通电缆项目地基处理工程项目中堆载预压和真空联合堆载预压施工的比较研究,得出真空联合堆载预压比堆载预压具有更高的施工成效效率,更好的沉降稳定性和沉降性,以及水平位移量更小,使周围软弱边界的变形处于较为稳定的状态。     

双层地基超载预压固结理论及应用

针对未打穿竖井地基传统固结计算方法的不足 ,将深厚软土未打穿竖井地基合理转化为双层地基 ;分析了双层地基超载预压的固结、沉降机理 ,给出了多级等速加、卸载条件下双层地基一维固结孔压解析解。考虑时间因素的影响 ,提出了反映土结构性的固结沉降计算方法。最后 ,结合工程实例计算 ,发现采用超载预压法处理深厚软土地基 ,对于控制工后沉降是不利的 ;工后沉降主要是下卧层的压缩变形造成的 ,约占工后总沉降的 74%左右。     

Experimental study on a dredged fill ground improved by a two-stage vacuum preloading method

The vacuum preloading method has been wisely chosen among many ground-improvement methods considering the time limit of many projects and the characteristics of reclaimed soil. However, the loss in vacuum with soil depth, the clogging around prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs), and the deteriorative consolidation of the deep soil layer, among other factors, create a large challenge to vacuum preloading for dredged marine clay fill. Thus, this study proposes a two-stage vacuum preloading method and focuses on its feasibility and effectiveness. Contrasting laboratory tests are performed in two identical experimental tanks with dredged marine clay fill from the Wenzhou land reclamation site in China. In one tank, the one-stage vacuum preloading method is used to serve as a baseline for this study. In the other tank, use of the two-stage vacuum preloading method is proposed for consolidation; it comprises two stages. In the first stage, the dredged marine clay fill is conditioned by vacuum preloading using half of the PVDs, where the dissipation of the excess pore water pressure tends to be steady. In the second stage, vacuum preloading is activated using all the PVDs. The results show that a better consolidation effect is achieved with the proposed method in terms of the settlement, vacuum pressure, pore water pressure, water content, vane shear strength, and soil particle microstructure after soil consolidation.     

Prediction of embankment behavior of regulating reservoir with foundation improved by vacuum consolidation method

The present paper addresses the numerical prediction of the behavior of a ground and a reservoir dyke with a retaining wall at the site of a regulating reservoir whose soft soil foundation is improved by using both the usual embankment preloading and vacuum consolidation. To evaluate the settlement, the lateral deformation, and the dissipation of pore pressure during vacuum preloading, a numerical analysis using an elasto-plastic FEM for soil–water coupled problems, incorporating the SYS Cam-clay model, is carried out in two dimensions. However, a change in the soil parameters during the vacuum preloading leads to a less accurate computation. To account for the uncertainties in the input parameters of the constitutive model for the improved ground, an inverse analysis approach is adopted. The particle filter is used to identify the compression index of the clay layers and the coefficient of permeability of the organic soil layer based on the measured settlement at the bottom of the preloading embankment during the vacuum consolidation. The reservoir dyke with a retaining wall is constructed on an improved foundation after removing the preloading embankment, and an attempt is made to predict its performance after construction by an elasto-plastic FEM for soil–water coupled problems using the identified parameters.     

真空堆载联合预压加固软基机理的试验研究

通过对浃里陈大桥桥头试验段的真空度、地下水位、流量、孔隙水压力、地表沉降等现场监测结果的分析 ;阐述了真空堆载联合预压的联合机理 ,真空预压与堆载预压的联合方式不是真空荷载与堆载荷载的叠加 ,而是真空预压引起的孔压差与堆载压力引起的孔压差的叠加。试验结果表明 ,用真空堆载联合预压法处理软基是极为有效的。     

真空预压法对周边地基变形影响的研究

基于真空预压加固软土地基的机理，研究了该方法实施时对周边地基造成的影响，从侧向卸载的角度探讨了真空预压加固区外土体的受力和变形情况。结合工程实测资料，分析了真空预压法加固软土地基时加固区外土体水平位移和竖向沉降的特性。指出由于加固区边界无法做到完全封闭，随着加固区内真空度增加和地下水位下降，加固区外地下水位也会存在不同程度的下降，并导致土体在真空预压卸载后仍会继续发生固结和沉降。论文阐述了减少其影响的措施，所得结论可供工程实践借鉴。     

大直径扩底短桩单桩承载力试验

某高层建筑的地基持力层分布均匀且埋藏较浅、土层厚度较小,而持力层下部又有较好的土层,经方案比选,决定采用大直径扩底短桩,并通过静载荷试验进行了验证,验证结果表明,试验结果与计算值基本一致,设计是合理可行的。     

Predicting deformation of PVD improved deposit under vacuum and surcharge loads

A series of modified triaxial tests was conducted to investigate the deformation characteristics of mini-prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) unit cells. The factors considered are the (1) magnitudes of surcharge load (p_s) and vacuum pressure (p_vac); (2) pre-vacuum consolidation period (t_va) before applying surcharge load; (3) surcharge loading rate (SLR); and (4) initial effective stress state in the specimens. Based on the test results, relationships between the coefficient of earth pressure (K_es) at the end of surcharge load application and the normalized horizontal and vertical specimen strains are established. Further, a method is proposed for estimating the value of K_es, and therefore the horizontal and vertical strains of the PVD improved soil layer subjected to combined vacuum pressure and surcharge load using loading conditions and basic soil properties. Finally, the proposed method was applied to a case history reported in the literature and good agreement between the field-measured and calculated lateral displacement and settlement was obtained, which suggesting that the proposed method can be a useful tool for designing preloading projects involving combined vacuum and surcharge loads.     

Laboratory tests of electro-osmotic consolidation combined with vacuum preloading on kaolinite using electrokinetic geosynthetics

Laboratory tests were conducted on kaolinite to investigate the effectiveness of electro-osmotic consolidation combined with vacuum preloading using electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKG). The results showed that the combined method could remove more water and induce larger surface ground settlements compared with the traditional vacuum preloading or electro-osmotic consolidation. Vacuum preloading was quite effective during the first 4?h, though the electro-osmotic consolidation took a main role in dewatering process after 9?h. The combined method could also hinder the development of cracks, induce higher negative pore water pressure and hence increase the efficiency of electro-osmotic consolidation. The results showed that deep electro-osmotic consolidation technique combined with vacuum preloading could result in significant water removal efficiency along with shorter electrode length. Furthermore, both electro-osmotic consolidation and the combined method could consolidate the soil efficiently with low energy consumption.     

控制沉降真空预压停泵的标准研究

通过真空联合堆载预压处理软基的现场试验，对控制停泵的标准（即沉降速率〈5mm／月）进行分析。结果表明：该标准显然过于严格，难以达到；即使能够达到造价也过高，因此也是难以应用的。综合考虑软土卸载再加载压缩变形特性和超载引起软土超固结性，在卸载标准上进行修正，推求出实际施工停泵前允许沉降速率。