Back-analyses of flow parameters of PVD improved soft Bangkok clay with and without vacuum preloading from settlement data and numerical simulations

Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) with embankment preloading (conventional PVDs) and with embankment combined with vacuum preloading (Vacuum-PVDs) are examined using the field data obtained from the site of the Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand. The flow parameters were back-analyzed by comparison of measured and predicted or simulated data. The flow parameters were illustrated in terms of the horizontal coefficient of consolidation (C_h) and the ratio between the horizontal hydraulic conductivity in undisturbed zone (k_h) and the horizontal hydraulic conductivity in smear zone (k_s) or (k_h/k_s). Numerical simulations using one-dimensional FEM PVDCON software with equivalent vertical permeability, k_ev, to determine the appropriate C_h and k_h/k_s of PVDs with conventional embankment preloading and with embankment combined with vacuum preloading schemes were made. Furthermore, numerical simulations using axisymmetric FEM by ABAQUS software, incorporating horizontal (k_h) and vertical (k_v) permeabilities, to determine the appropriate k_h/k_s based on back-calculated C_h of conventional PVD and Vacuum-PVD schemes were also done. The Vacuum-PVD scheme indicated faster rate of settlement than conventional PVD scheme by about 1.7–1.8 times with slight reduction of the k_h/k_s ratios. For conventional PVD, it was demonstrated that the increase in k_h/k_s ratios reduced the simulated rate of settlement.     

Measured and predicted performance of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) with and without vacuum preloading

This paper presents the effectiveness of vacuum preloading in accelerating the consolidation of PVD improved soft Bangkok clay by comparing with the corresponding results without vacuum preloading. Laboratory tests were conducted using a large scale consolidometer having diameter of 300 mm and height of 500 mm with reconstituted specimens installed with prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) with and without vacuum preloading. In addition, field data were collected from Second Bangkok International Airport (SBIA) site improved by PVD with and without vacuum pressures. Analyses were carried out to compare the compressibility parameters (C_h and k_h/k_s) by back-calculation of laboratory and field settlements using Hansbo (1979) method. From the laboratory tests, the horizontal coefficient of consolidation (C_h) values from reconstituted specimens were 1.08 and 1.87 m²/yr for PVD without and with vacuum pressure, respectively and the k_h/k_s values were 2.7 for PVD only and 2.5 for vacuum-PVD. After the improvement, the water contents of the soft clay were reduced, thereby, increasing its undrained shear strengths. Similarly, the field data analysis based on the back-calculated results showed that the k_h/k_s were 7.2 and 6.6 for PVD without and with vacuum, respectively. The C_h values increased slightly from 2.17 m²/yr for PVD only to 3.51 m²/yr for vacuum-PVD. The time to reach 90% degree of consolidation for soils with vacuum-PVD was one-third shorter than that for soils with PVD only because of higher C_h values. Thus, the addition of vacuum pressure leads to increase horizontal coefficient of consolidation which shortened the time of preloading. The PVDCON software was found to be useful to predict the settlements of the PVD improved ground with and without vacuum preloading.     

Experimental study on the clogging effect of dredged fill surrounding the PVD under vacuum preloading

Clogging effect surrounding prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) is a typical problem when vacuum preloading is applied to a dredged fill foundation. A large-scale model test was designed to clarify the cause and mechanism of the clogging effect, and the basic physical and mechanical parameters of the soil in the clogging zone were tracked during the test. The results demonstrated that a clogging zone was formed around the PVD in the early stage of improvement with conventional vacuum preloading, and the boundary of the clogging zone was approximately 0.2–0.4 of the boundary radius. The clogging zone surrounding the PVD was formed because of the overall movement of the soil toward the PVD under the high vacuum pressure gradient, rather than fine particle migration. The soil in the clogging zone exhibited permeability anisotropy and equivalent ‘smear’ effect. The permeability ratio (k_h/k_v) was less than 1, and the ratio of horizontal permeability coefficients at the test distances of 45 cm and 10 cm were 9.6 at a depth of 20 cm and 8.9 at a depth of 80 cm. An analysis of the microstructure of the soil in the clogging zone demonstrated that the clay particles tended to be vertically oriented. The re-orientation of the clay particles reduced the horizontal permeability coefficient and led to the permeability anisotropy of the soil in the clogging zone. Thus, decrease in the horizontal permeability coefficient and equivalent ‘smear’ effect of the soil in the clogging zone affect the consolidation of dredged fill, which leads to the clogging effect. The permeability anisotropy also slightly affects consolidation.     

Analytical solutions to the axisymmetric consolidation of a multi-layer soil system under surcharge combined with vacuum preloading

Surcharge combined with vacuum preloading is a common technique for accelerating the consolidation process in ground improvement. A unit cell model for the axisymmetric consolidation of a soft soil using a prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) under a surcharge, combined with vacuum preloading, is investigated in this study. Based on this model, analytical solutions for a multi-layer soil system are put forward and the explicit expressions for two-layer and one-layer systems are presented. The accuracy of the proposed solution is verified using an analytical solution available in the literature. In the parametric study, the influencing factors on the consolidation process, such as, the smear zone, the PVD spacing, the hydraulic conductivity in the radial direction, the coefficient of vacuum decrease, are taken into account. The water flow in the radial direction plays an important role in the consolidation process while the impact of the vertical flow mainly develops around the interfaces between two adjacent layers. In addition, the proposed analytical solution is applied in a case history with three different layers and the results are reasonable.     

Innovative thermal technique for enhancing the performance of prefabricated vertical drain during the preloading process

This paper examines the effect of raising the temperature of soft Bangkok clay, up to 90 °C, on the performance of the prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) during the preloading process. The effect of temperature on the engineering behavior of soft Bangkok clay was first investigated using a modified triaxial test apparatus and flexible wall permeameter which can handle temperatures up to 100 °C. The results of the triaxial tests on clay specimens demonstrate that raising the soil temperature increases its shear strength, under drained heating condition, as well as its hydraulic conductivity. In addition, large oedometer tests were performed to investigate the performance of PVD at elevated temperatures. The response of the soil sample with PVD for the thermal consolidation path which involved increasing the soil temperature at constant vertical effective stress condition and the thermo-mechanical path which involved increasing simultaneously both the soil temperature and the vertical effective stress were investigated. The consequent results indicated that the thermo-mechanical path shows promising results regarding the consolidation rate. For both reconstituted and undisturbed specimens, higher consolidation rate was observed for the soil specimen with PVD loaded under elevated temperature. This behavior can be attributed to the increase in the soil hydraulic conductivity as the soil temperature increases. Therefore, raising the soil temperature during the preloading period can enhance the performance of the PVD, particularly, by reducing the drainage retardation effects due to the smear zone around PVD.     

考虑板土相互作用的排水板通水特性试验研究

为研究排水板在实际工况下的通水特性,研制排水板纵向通水量测试新仪器,采用室内真空预压模型试验、堆载预压模型试验和直接充灌淤泥等方法来制作板土单元体(试样),并开展板土单元体(试样)通水能力测试。试验结果表明:无论是直接充灌淤泥法、堆载预压法还是真空预压法,高性能排水板通水量均大于现行规程试验结果,而普通排水板通水量均小于现行规程试验结果,现行规程方法高估了真空预压后普通排水板的通水能力。对比结果表明:高性能排水板在堆载预压后通水能力与真空预压后通水能力接近,而普通排水板在堆载预压后通水能力明显高于真空预压后通水能力。因此,对于变形大且固结时间长的新近吹填淤泥地基加固工程应优先选用高性能排水板。     

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.     

Effects of temperature circulation on dredged sludge improved by vacuum preloading

Vacuum preloading is an effective and common method used for clay soil improvement. However, the smear zone generated by the installation of prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) hinders additional efficiency improvements. PVD combined with heat is applied to overcome this problem. This study presents a series of model tests conducted on clayey soil improved by vacuum preloading with different rectangular-wave temperature circulation modes to investigate the effects of cyclic temperature on vacuum consolidation. During the test, the settlement, pore-water pressure, and drainage were monitored. The degree of consolidation was analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of this method, and the coefficient of energy consumption was used to quantify the energy consumption at different cyclic temperature modes. The results indicated that the rectangular-wave temperature circulation mode of 30–75–30 °C was the most effective. The results of this study contribute substantially to the state of knowledge regarding the cyclic temperature effects on dredged slurry performance subjected to vacuum preloading. Concurrently, a novel approach is introduced for the determination of the optimal soil consolidation.     

Microstructures within and outside the smear zones for soft clay improvement using PVD only,Vacuum-PVD,Thermo-PVD and Thermo-Vacuum-PVD

Previous investigators have found increasing rates odf consolidation with increasing degrees of soft clay improvement using PVD only, Vacuum-PVD, Thermo-PVD and Thermo-Vacuum-PVD). This paper utilized scanning electron microscope (SEM) to evaluate and compare the microstructures of the clay specimens obtained from within the smear zone of both undisturbed and reconstituted samples in small consolidometer as well from within and outside the smear zone of reconstituted samples in large consolidometer. Before improvement, both reconstituted and undisturbed specimens showed anisotropic microstructures. In reconstituted specimen, face to face preferred orientations are revealed parallel to the horizontal plane. Meanwhile, in the undisturbed specimen, some degree of random edge to face mixed with face to face orientations were displayed. After improvement, the microstructures of Thermo-Vacuum-PVD revealed high levels of edge to face orientation in the vertically dominated smear zone, followed by Thermo-PVD, Vacuum-PVD, and PVD only. Moreover, the microstructures of specimens in the horizontally dominated outside of smear zone exhibited mainly face to face orientation and progressively mixed with edge to face orientation. The increasing intensities of edge to face microstructures were successfully correlated with increasing flow parameters and measured shear strengths corresponding to the increasing levels of improvement.     

真空-堆载联合预压加固软基简化计算方法

在深入了解真空预压机理和砂井地基固结理论的基础上 ,根据固结度等效的原则 ,推导了与单井固结理论等效的成层均质地基等效渗透系数 ,从而将复杂砂井地基转化为无砂井成层地基 ,以达到简化计算的目的 ,并结合真空-堆载联合预压的加固特点 ,提出一种简化的真空-堆载联合预压法的有限元计算方法 ,并结合工程实例对简化方法的可靠性进行了研究 ,通过与实测资料和常规砂井地基有限元计算值对比 ,表明该简化方法具有较高的准确性 ,可方便地应用于工程设计和实践。     

Performance of Band Shaped Vertical Drain for Soft Hai Phong Clay

Performance of band shaped prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) installed into soft Hai Phong clay with a 110 cm triangle arrangement is reported together with the engineering properties of the clay investigated by field and laboratory tests. Stationary piston sampling was carried out to obtain high quality undisturbed soil samples for laboratory tests and reliable engineering characteristics of the clay. It was assumed for the design of PVD spacing and preloading that the ratio of apparent value of horizontal coefficient of consolidation c_h(ap) to vertical coefficient of consolidation c_v is equal to 1.0. The settlement monitored in the field, which clearly showed that the actual settlement was faster than expected, resulted in the c_h(ap) value 1.5 times as much as c_v determined by the laboratory test.     

真空预压法加固软基三维有限元计算

为预测广州南沙港区某真空预压加固工程的效果与影响范围,针对真空预压加固大面积软基的变形特点,提出将单井涂抹效应对涂抹区内土体渗透性的弱化作用转化为减小单井影响区内土体水平向渗透系数的方法,既可减少三维有限元计算的前处理工作量,又可考虑砂井地基的涂抹效应,讨论了网格尺寸对固结度的影响。并视土体为多孔介质,采用比奥固结理论,结合依托工程,建立了较大规模的三维模型并进行有限元计算分析,计算结果与现场监测数据吻合得较好。     

Effects of pressurizing timing on air booster vacuum consolidation of dredged slurry

Air booster vacuum preloading is a newly improved method applied in land reclamation projects. Highly pressurized air can provide an additional pressure difference between the prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) and injection point, thereby increasing the hydraulic gradient and generating small fractures that can improve the soil permeability and the transmission efficiency of the vacuum pressure. However, with a premature activation time, the pressurized air can create air channels connected to the PVD, which may drastically decrease the vacuum pressure. With a delayed activation time, the strength of the dredged clay may be too high to permit fractures, thus limiting the permeability improvement. In this study, soils with degrees of consolidation (DOCs) of 0%, 40%, 60%, and 80% were selected for testing the efficacy of initial booster activation times in four tests. The results show that the pressurizing groups were more effective in improving the consolidation of soils, and the best effect of the use of air booster is obtained when soil has been consolidated to a DOC of 60%. The lower soils of the pressurized groups showed greater increase rates than those demonstrated by conventional vacuum preloading.     

海南海花岛软基处理工程中真空预压法的改进与机理分析

疏浚淤泥这种超软土地基目前主要采用排水固结法进行加固,然而,工程实践发现,淤堵是一个重要的问题,新型防淤堵材料和施工工艺是研究的热点。依托恒大海南海花岛真空预压处理工程,引入一种应用于超软土地基处理的新型防淤堵真空预压法。该方法是直排式真空预压方法的进一步改进,将防淤堵排水板取代传统排水板,在连接方式上,将无孔钢丝软管取代了水平波纹管,也将传统的包扎捆绑改进成了三通密封接头,枪钉固定。结合施工动态监测和加固后检测,表明了该方法的加固效果和实用性。在此基础上,结合已有的室内模型试验研究,阐述其抽真空过程中在排水板附近防淤堵的原理和改善机制。     

Analytical solution on vacuum consolidation of dredged slurry considering clogging effects

This paper aims to establish an analytical model on vacuum consolidation of dredged slurry treated by PVD with special considerations on the clogging effects. A series of laboratory tests have been conducted to characterize the temporal/spatial variations of the clogging zone and the vacuum pressure in soil. Based on the nonlinear relationship between the compressibility, the permeability and the void ratio (e-p and e-k curves), an analytical model incorporating the clogging zone was proposed and solved considering the nonlinear attenuation of the vacuum pressure. The solution was verified and validated by comparing with published data and field test results, respectively. Parametric studies reveal that the clogging significantly slows down the consolidation rate, and thus reduces the final degree of consolidation of the dredged slurry.     

Land reclamation using the horizontal drainage enhanced geotextile sheet method

Increasingly waste materials or soft soil dredged from sea or river have to be used as fill materials for land reclamation. Although preloading using prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) has been commonly used as the treatment method for soft soil, this method is time consuming as it can only be applied after all the fill materials have been placed. In this paper, a conceptual design for land reclamation using a horizontal drainage enhanced geotextile sheet (HDeGs) method combined with vacuum preloading is proposed. Large-scale model tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the HDeGs method. The proposed method is also compared with the existing prefabricated horizontal drain (PHD) method and the advantages and disadvantages of the HDeGs with vacuum preloading method are discussed. This study has demonstrated that the proposed HDeGs method is not only effective, but also more efficient compared with the PVD or PHD methods, as it can reduce substantially the construction time required for land reclamation.     

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.     

Full-Scale Embankment Consolidation Test using Prefabricated Vertical Thermal Drains

In this study the field feasibility of an innovative thermal technique to improve the performance of prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) used in conjunction with the preloading ground improvement method is investigated. For this purpose, two identical 6.0 m high full-scale test embankments for preloading were constructed over the soft Bangkok clay where a conventional PVD system was installed underneath one embankment and a novel prefabricated vertical thermo-drain (PVTD) system was utilized for the other. The PVTD unit consists of a U-tube made of cross-linked polyethylene plastic (PEX) that is attached to a conventional PVD unit. Preheated water at about 90°C is circulated through the attached U-tube to raise the soil temperature underneath the PVTD embankment. The behavior of the two test embankments were compared in terms of excess pore water pressure and consolidation results. The comparison shows the advantage of a PVTD system over a conventional PVD system. The rate of consolidation increases significantly in the PVTD system due to the temperature effect on the hydraulic conductivity. Moreover, the embankment with the PVTD system generates more settlement due to the thermally induced irreversible contraction of saturated normally consolidated soft Bangkok clay.     

Improvement of silty clay by vacuum preloading incorporated with electroosmotic method

A laboratory test was performed to assess the effectiveness of vacuum preloading incorporated with electroosmotic (EOM) treatment on silty clay (combined method) for reclamation projects like new disposal ponds, where the horizontal electrode configurations beneath the soil layer were possible and the drainage pipes and the prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) system could be easily installed in advance before the sludge dragged from sea bed or river bed was filled into the site. Three groups of tests were conducted on the silty clay from Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China. The model is able to apply vacuum pressure at the bottom of the soil layer and a direct current electric field simultaneously. It is also possible to measure the pore pressures at different depths of soil column, and the changes in settlement and volume with the elapsed time. In this study, the vacuum preloading method, vacuum preloading applied at the bottom (VAB method), was applied and the cathodes were installed beneath the soil layer. The results obtained indicate substantial reduction in water content, and increases in dry density and undrained shear strength in comparison with those obtained by the vacuum preloading only, particularly at the positions close to the anode. The combined method utilizes the vertical drainage flow created by the electroosmosis integrating the horizontal drainage flow created mostly by the vacuum pressure. The total drainage flow can be calculated as a result of the vertical drainage flow by electroosmosis only and the horizontal drainage flow by the vacuum preloading only. The way of placement of the cathode and the anode in the combined method also overcomes the disadvantage of EOM method itself, i.e. the appearance of cracks between the anode and the surrounding soil. Moreover, it is observed that the vacuum preloading plays a primary role in earlier stage in deduction of free pore water; meanwhile, the electroosmotic method is more efficient in later stage for absorbing water in the diffused double layers o     

Vertical compression of soft clay within PVD-improved zone under vacuum loading: Theoretical and practical study

Reliably estimating soil vertical compression under vacuum loading is still challenging for geotechnical engineers. In this paper, the soil vertical compression within the prefabricated vertical drain (PVD)-improved zone under vacuum pressure was investigated based on the theoretical analysis, reported laboratory tests and the case histories. A theoretical equation was developed to evaluate the effect of lateral displacement on the soil vertical compression. The observed small overall lateral-to-vertical strain ratio at the perimeter of the PVD-improved zone soil showed that the vertical compression of PVD-improved zone was close to one-dimensional (1-D) state, but 1-D compression method yielded smaller predictions than the measurements from the case histories. The back-analyzed soil modulus of the natural soft clay in Shanghai Disneyland Resort project showed considerable degradation as compared to the corresponding constrained modulus from the laboratory test. Such degradation could be due to the soil disturbance caused by PVD installation. The 1-D compression method was modified by introducing two factors to consider the effect of soil lateral displacement and to correct the constrained modulus due to the soil disturbance caused by PVD installation, respectively. The recommendations were provided after applying the proposed method to a case history.